In Arthur's Head, S2
by AJsRandom
Summary: A series of stories from series/season 2 that I've remodeled to see Arthur's POV. Ch. 1 is from 2.01, Ch. 2 is from 2.04, Ch. 3 is from 3.08, Ch. 4 is from 2.10, and Ch. 5 is from 2.12. I'm sticking to the story line, just adding Arthur's spin on it. I hope you have as much fun with this as I did! (My summary stinks, please do R&R)
1. Chapter 1

It's the middle of the night in Camelot, and I don't know of anyone who could be sleeping right now, especially not me. Father had decided to hunt for treasure beneath the castle at all hours of the day. I appreciate building the wealth of the kingdom, but not at the expense of sleep. Maybe _he_ was sleeping through this—even though the diggers were far below me, their work could still be heard up several floors up.

"Merlin." I got out of bed. "Merlin!" If I couldn't sleep, he wouldn't either. Sharing is caring.

He came running. "Yes, Sire?"

"Are you deaf?"

His annoyingly cheerful grin faded, "I wish." I was referring to his delay in arrival, but his answer worked for both.

"I need you to go down there and order them to cease and desist."

"But they're working under the King's direction." I'm aware of that.

"Yes, and you're working under mine." I turned and fell back onto my bed as he left the room. If Father _was_ sleeping through this, no one would dare wake him to check that I _wasn't_ following his orders.

xxxXxxx

The next day, Father and I visited the treasure-filled tomb that had been unearthed by those noisy diggers. I'd asked Gaius and Merlin to visit us there. This had better be worth the loss of sleep and life. Naturally Merlin had returned soon after he'd left, to tell me about the tomb and dead digger. Even though it had been quiet after that, I had trouble falling asleep.

Father kept up a running dialogue about what he expected to find and what we needed to do to protect it. We got to the doorway and I heard a metallic thud. Probably Merlin dropped something. Father stepped through the entryway first, still talking. A plate rolled to a stop at his feet. Merlin looked guilty; I appeared to be right.

". . . secured at all times," he finished saying to me, then looked at Merlin. "Idiot." Yep.

I stepped through the entry and walked by the idiot, "Are you naturally clumsy or do you work at it?"

He flashed me that goofy smile of his, "It's just one of my numerous talents."

Father and I walked deeper into the tomb, fascinated. "Well this is quite a discovery. You see, Gaius, I was correct. There _are_ riches to recover under Camelot. Which of my ancestors do I have to thank for all this?" Gaius didn't respond right away, so he tried again, "Gaius?"

"Uh, I'd have to look into it, Sire." He looked and sounded distracted. I could clearly see why.

Father walked close enough to the tomb to see the unfortunate digger. "How did he die?"

"He seems to have unintentionally set off a trap here."

There's only one reason for a trap in this tomb. "To discourage grave robbers," I said.

"Well there's enough in here people might want to appropriate. Have them secure the tomb. Protecting it is your responsibility, Arthur," Father replied.

"Yes, Father." _Of course_ it's my responsibility.

xxxXxxx

This next day was guaranteed to be a good one—I was going hunting! I waited for Merlin at the foot of the steps in the main square. He had the rest of my equipment and I was running behind already. I saw him near the doors. "Hurry up, Merlin."

"Sorry." He rushed down the stairs to kneel on all fours beside my horse. He made a good stepstool, if nothing else. I mounted the horse only to slide off on the other side. Clearly the girth wasn't secured. I hit the cobblestones with an "oof!" To add insult to injury, my horse trotted away.

"Merlin!" The only one there was to blame.

"I don't understand." He looked as surprised as I felt. I'm not buying that.

"Well, there's a surprise." Hardly.

"I did that girth up myself." Apparently not!

"Well, I think that might have been the problem!"

"It wasn't my fault." Riiiiight. Denial will get you nowhere.

"Would you like me to fit the girth properly for you, Sire?" A stranger asked. We turned to look at him. He'd gone after my horse and led him back.

"Thank you."

He gave a small bow and replied, "It's an honor to be of service to the Prince."

I was impressed. I turned to look pointedly at Merlin. "An honor. Do you hear that Merlin?"

The stranger took out a brush. "Allow me the honor of brushing your clothes down."

I couldn't believe this guy! I whispered to Merlin, "The honor." He looked at me, dubious.

"Anything else I can do for you, sir?" This was _too_ good.

"Well, you can give Merlin here a kick up the backside." I was only half joking. Merlin looked like he was biting his tongue for once.

The stranger chuckled. "I wouldn't wish to deprive you of the pleasure, sir." I liked this guy! He may be a bit too anxious to please, but genial enough. Unlike some servants.

"Ha! What's your name?"

"Cedric. I've come to Camelot in search of work."

Well, he'd get it. "Good. You can be a beater on the hunt." I walked away to re-mount my horse. "We're short of a man or two."

"You're too kind, Sire."

I saw Merlin bend over to reach a stick. "Here. You'll need a beater." He shoved it into Cedric's stomach, causing the man to double over. "Oh, sorry," he said insincerely. Ah, so he was jealous of the attention I'd given Cedric. Good. Now he had reason enough to improve his attitude and performance.

xxxXxxx

We'd finally made it to the woods. I walked stealthily, spear in hand. The beaters were spread out in a line a few feet behind me. I heard movement ahead of us and stopped the line. Suddenly a giant boar burst through the bushes, just a few yards away. I heard Cedric inhale deeply as I readied my spear. Others backed away through the bushes behind us. The monster ran closer and I hurled the spear, only to see it glance off the side. I crouched down, preparing to wrestle it if needed. All of a sudden, a spear flew by me and lodged in the side of the beast. It collapsed heavily to the ground.

I walked forward to examine it. A thought struck me and I whipped around to ask, "Who threw that?"

I looked several men in the face, silently questioning them. Finally I heard a small cough. "Ahem." Cedric.

I turned to him. "Was it you?" He shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. "You just saved my life."

"Truly, Sire, it was nothing." Oh too modest. Nevertheless . . .

"I shall always be in your debt. You must be repaid."

"No, I couldn't." Properly deferential, but I won't be denied.

"Come on. What would you like?"

"I want just one thing, Sire."

"Anything."

"A post in the royal household."

"Good. Consider it done." I glanced at Merlin. He looked baffled and a tiny bit resentful. "Ha-ha!"

"Here, take this back," I heard Cedric say, presumably to Merlin. That was followed by the sound of wood hitting flesh and an "Oof!"

The last thing I heard as I walked back to my prize was Cedric saying, "Oh, sorry," insincerely. Payback is a bear!

xxxXxxx

The next morning I woke up to the sound of Cedric entering the room with breakfast. He greeted me genially, sat the tray on the table and opened the curtains. Merlin was nowhere to be seen, of course. He was late as usual, while Cedric appeared early by merely being on time. So far this wasn't much of a competition. He helped me dress then stood by while I sat down to eat, occasionally serving various dishes. That's when the door opened again to reveal the world's laziest servant. I was going to have so much fun with this.

"Is that lunch?" I asked him while his back was still turned.

"No, it's breakfas . . ." He replied, halting when he saw what Cedric was doing. Oh the look on his face!

Perfect time to compliment Cedric, "This is splendid, Cedric." Merlin finally closed his mouth, but pulled off looking dumbfounded and incensed at the same time.

Merlin tried again, "Is there anything else that needs to be done, Sire?"

"No, I believe Cedric's got it all dealt with." More than adequately, in fact.

Cedric looked thoughtful for a few seconds then said, "Oh, I apologize, Sire, there is one task I neglected to do. Uh, muck out your horses." I could see him and Merlin shooting irritated looks at each other. _Ha!_

"Off you go," I directed at Merlin.

"I'll get the door for you." Ever polite, Cedric crossed the room to open the door. I continued my breakfast, laughing internally at their interaction. I could already tell this would be a highly amusing day, if nothing else.

xxxXxxx

I was conversing with a guard in the lower town when we suddenly heard hoof beats and whinnying.

"Sire!" the guard yelled, and pointed behind me. I turned around to find all my horses running unrestrained through the town. People jumped frantically out of the way. I tried to grasp the reins of the first but quickly decided it wasn't worth the trampling I'd get. I stared, frustrated as the rest ran past. There could only be one person responsible for this mess, and he was about to get an earful.

I took my time walking to the stables. That way I had time to build my furious lecture. I entered to find the world's most exhausted servant asleep on the hay, his face resting on . . . something unsavory. I walked right up to him, crouching next to his head. He stirred and started when he looked into my face. I smirked at him and he backed away.

"Sire!" Yep, that's me, well done.

"What are you doing?" No getting out of this one.

"Nothing." He stood up then, looking very confused

"I can see that."

"I wasn't napping. I was, I was just bending over." He looked around, dazed.

"Trying to find something."

"Yes?" He seemed unsure.

I stood up. "Maybe we're trying to find the same thing."

"What?" Did someone drug him? This is way too confused, even for him.

"Oh, I don't know—the horses!" Enough Mister Nice Guy.

"The hor-ses. Oh!"

"One blunder I can deal with." I got right in his face. "Everyone has an off day once in a while, but this is one thing after another!" He looked ready to tear his hair out in exasperation. Or maybe he'd gotten a migraine; I know the feeling.

"I—I don't understand what happened!" I'm starting to think the confusion may not be an act, but it's no excuse either. Cedric stepped into the entrance.

"Sire. Please, Sire, don't be too rough on him. He's a fine servant, he simply . . . he's tired." Merlin threw him a disgusted look.

"I am not!"

"Perhaps . . . perhaps if he had the evening off . . ."

"I don't need the evening off." Things were heating up between them now. I glanced between them.

"A decent night's rest . . ."

"I didn't go to sleep!" Merlin yelled. He was being out-maneuvered.

"I'm more than prepared to assume his tasks tonight." That was magnanimous of him.

"Maybe you're right," I agreed.

"No." Merlin stuck his finger in my face. _Oh no he didn't._

"Shut up, Merlin." If he knew what was good for him, he'd do it.

"Can't you see what he's trying to do? He's trying to get rid of me, and if you weren't such a clotpole, you'd see that!" Apparently not. Wait, what?

"A what?" I said in my dangerous tone.

He'd clammed up so Cedric answered for him, "Clotpole. He, he said clotpole." What kind of insult was that?!

I'd had it. Instead of yelling I decided to stay menacingly quiet. "Cedric's right. He can take care of me tonight. You can go to bed and consider whether you want to be my servant or not."

"But . . ." That's all he got out.

"Go." _If you know what's good for you, and even if you don't, idiot._ Cedric brushed off his jacket and handed it to him. With a sigh and a glance at me, Merlin stomped out of the stable.

What was his issue with Cedric anyway? Sure, he was kind of a bootlicker, but Merlin could stand to learn a thing or two from him. He's always asking for time off, so he should be grateful for this opportunity. But no. Trying to understand his motivation would give me a headache, so I gave up for the day.

xxxXxxx

I woke up this morning to notice my key to the tomb was missing. Only three people had access to it. I was sleeping of course, and Gaius confirmed Merlin stayed in his room all night. Cedric, however, was missing. I asked the former two to meet me at the tomb. The door was opened and several treasures were missing or misplaced. "Sound the warning bell," I said to the guards standing outside. I walked out to get a search going, leaving Gaius and Merlin to investigate.

Someone had gotten into the tomb, stolen items then fled. And if Gaius was to be believed, the owner of the tomb, Cornelius Sigan, had somehow come back to life. Sigan was a powerful sorcerer who supposedly promised to wreak havoc upon Camelot when he returned. I didn't know what to believe, but I _knew_ Father would be angry until we found the thief.

xxxXxxx

I'd just gotten back to my chambers to finish some piled-up paperwork when Merlin strode through the door looking like he'd eaten something sour. Now what did he want to complain about?

He stopped right in front of me before saying seriously, "Cedric is controlled by an evil spirit."

"What?" I knew he didn't like the guy, but this is far-fetched, even for him. I was dumbfounded.

"He tried to take the jewel, but it wasn't a jewel, it was the soul of Sigan, the ancient sorcerer." Maybe he'd taken the dismissal a little too seriously last night and spent some time in the tavern.

"Merlin, have you been on the cider?" That just agitated him more, but he wasn't making sense.

"Please, listen to me. Camelot is in terrible danger. Sigan is using Cedric's body to exact his revenge."

Incredible. He was so desperate he came up with this lunatic story? "This gibberish isn't helping you retain your job."

"You're not listening to me!" He yelled. Wait, he _yelled_ at me? I am _done_ with him. I stood.

"You're going to yell anyway? Cedric!" The man walked in the door. "Will you conduct Merlin from the castle?" Then Merlin lost it completely—he launched himself at Cedric, tackling him to the floor. They promptly started grappling and shoving each other.

"Ah!" Cedric choked out. Time to intervene. I started walking toward them, feeling a headache building.

"Merlin," I said in a futile attempt to stop them. But Cedric threw Merlin over his body and right into mine. I crashed painfully to the floor. Merlin got up and Cedric dived under the bed. Naturally Merlin had to follow him there. I got up to stop him. Cedric popped out and up on the opposite side. I started over there as well. When Merlin crawled out I tackled him to the floor.

"Ah!" Merlin yelled. I restrained his arms behind his back and shook him; I was beyond furious.

"You've gone too far this time, Merlin! You will spend a few days cooling off in the dungeon! Guards!" I shoved him out the door and waited for guards to come assist me. We wrestled him to the dungeon and threw him in a cell. Before I stomped off, I heard him yell:

"He'll demolish Camelot!"

He sounded completely serious. He actually _believed_ the outlandish story he'd fed me. It was so out of character for him to act like this though. He was obviously at odds with Cedric, but this seemed like something more than jealousy. Hopefully he'd calm down so we could talk rationally. I'd have to talk to Gaius when I got a chance; maybe he had an idea about what's wrong.

xxxXxxx

It was after dark when guards brought me reports of awful winged creatures flying in and around Camelot. Several people had seen them land and growl menacingly, showing long sharp claws and pointed teeth. I suited up in armor and went to confer with Father, who'd sent for me. I met him in the hall on the way to the council chamber. He shoved the doors open.

"I don't know what this monster is or where it's come from." _Well if we did, we'd know how to fight them_.

"There's more than one, Father. We've had numerous reports. There's panic in the lower town. People are running away from the city," I replied.

"Then you must pursue these monsters and destroy them." Well _of course_.

"Yes, Sire." I took the two knights behind me and ran down the hall. On my way out, I heard several screams and vicious growls. I ran to a window and threw it open. People were running everywhere, and just below me I saw one of the creatures stalking people. Suddenly one flew right at my window and I fell back to avoid it. I shut the window and resumed running.

Several knights had joined me on my run through the castle, so by the time I got outside I had a good-sized group. We formed up and charged the nearest creature. We got several jabs in but it was felling my men faster than we could attack. It was time for a new strategy. "Regroup! Low fight!" I yelled to the remaining men.

We reformed and crouched, shields in front, and crept forward to attack. Unfortunately that didn't work very well either and even more men went down. I started slashing it on my own, but it was fast and its skin was like stone. It had me on my back and I lay there stunned for a few minutes—until another one flew down at me from the parapet. Suddenly I found myself moving backwards, somehow avoiding it. Looking up, I saw Guinevere of all people. She'd pulled me out of the way.

"Guinevere?" I said in stunned disbelief. What was she _doing_ out here?

"Sire," she replied, distracted. I lumbered to my feet.

"That monster could've killed you."

Her eyes suddenly widened. "And it still might!" She said as she abruptly tackled me to the ground, and landed on top of me, saving my life again. "Sorry, Sire," she blushed. Why did she apologize? I had a nice view of her . . . face.

"No. My pleasure." I mentally slapped myself upside the head. I was being completely honest because why? Oh, I'd had the sense knocked out of me, literally. That was it, yeah.

The creature continued to circle overhead as we got up and ran into the castle. Gwen took my arm and led me to the Great Hall, where Gaius sets up his temporary hospital in times of crisis. Like now. We walked to a table and I sat on it heavily, grunting in pain. Those claws cut right through chain mail. Gwen bent down to get a look at the wound.

"I'll get you something to stop the bleeding," she said, and turned to walk away. I looked at her, speechless. I knew I needed to thank her somehow, but those were words I hardly ever had to say. Usually I did the saving and was thanked, so I was uncomfortable with this reverse situation.

"Guinevere," I called out. She stopped and turned. "I wanted to say . . . just, uh . . . you always surprise me." That was even harder than I'd thought. But she smiled, so I guess I did all right. Except for the gratitude part.

"Is that it, Sire?" She suddenly looked anxious to complete her task.

"That's it." She turned around to leave again. Darn, why is this so hard? One more time—"Oh," she turned around again, "and uh . . . thank you." She nodded her head in acknowledgement. _Damn_, _she was so beautiful in that moment_. Why hadn't I noticed before?

I watched her walk away and come back. She sat her materials next to me and I heard Father call my name.

"Arthur." He'd walked over to me and looked at my wound, concern etched on his face.

"It's nothing," I replied in answer to his unasked question. Morgana had come over to assist Gwen.

Down to business. "Have we forced the monsters out?"

"They dominate the lower town. The market has been all but obliterated." He turned abruptly, as if he was dreading the news.

"How many lost?

"Too many to count." He turned back around. I could see in his eyes that he'd made a difficult decision.

"I'm closing up the citadel."

"You can't!" I gasped out in shock. All the survivors would be left out there with those creatures. They'd be ripped apart!

"I have no other option. I have to safeguard those who stand a chance. If I don't, we're all finished. Where are you going?" I'd pushed the girls' hands away and risen to my feet.

"There are people caught on the drawbridge."

"I forbid you." I started walking away.

"I won't allow them to die."

Father followed me and grabbed my shoulder to stop me. I turned to face him as he said, "It's suicide!"

I was incensed he'd had the nerve to stop me. "It's my duty to Camelot! And to myself!" And with that I turned again and left the room, drawing many uninjured knights with me.

We made our way outside and to the drawbridge without incident. There we halted and surveyed the scene. Bodies littered the area; none were moving. "Look for survivors," I instructed. Then we heard that screechy growl behind us. We whipped around to meet the creature. It flew overhead and landed in front of us. "On me!" I yelled, then, "Charge!" And we ran forward to engage it.

It stalked forward angrily. Suddenly another flew down from nowhere, landed on a knight, and lifted him in the air. At his cry we turned to look. He screamed but we could do nothing—the other creature was still in front of us. Luckily Sir Geraint had turned forward again.

"Arthur!" It had leaped forward and I was unprepared for its slashing hand. I went down, stunned. I distantly heard him again, "Arthur!" and "Retreat!" Then the sound of running men and, "Regroup in the square!" I forced myself up and followed the knights into the square, staying on guard by walking backwards. I heard him say, "Arthur? Arthur? Arthur?!" Then a creature dropped down to land between me and the group of knights. It swiveled to face them.

"Save yourselves!" I yelled. "That's an order!"

Sir Geraint didn't waste any time, "Retreat! Retreat!" They all ran into the castle while I prepared to face the creature again.

I hacked and hacked at it, but didn't gain any advantage. I heard rubble falling in the castle and a few screams. Then the creature backhanded me and I fell, mercifully blacking out before I hit the ground.

xxxXxxx

After a decent night's rest, with what was left of the night, I woke up much later than normal and threw on some clothes—I really can dress myself, ha! Father had sealed Sigan's tomb, because evidently Gaius and Merlin were right. Apparently Sigan's spirit seeped out of a jewel when Cedric tried to take it. The spirit took over Cedric's body and brought the castle's gargoyles to life in order to destroy us. But he was driven out and recaptured somehow; the jewel went back into the tomb. I guess all those treasures weren't worth the trouble.

Since Cedric was out of commission it seemed I had a vacancy in the armor polishing department, and I had to fill it. I made my way down to Gaius's chambers to see a man about the job. Good thing I'd forgiven him and he was out of the dungeon. I knocked and let myself in, walking to the table where Merlin sat.

"I came to see Merlin. I've not forgotten about your idle, impudent ways, or the fact that you dubbed me a 'clot pole,' but I do have to confess that there was some truth in your allegations against Cedric."

He flashed me his huge grin and said, "Does this imply you're admitting that in this case I was actually correct?" I supposed that I asked for that.

I pretended to mull over his statement. "Not really, no. It implies that I have a knighthood to confer first thing tomorrow and no one to polish my armor." I dumped my sack of armor on the table in front of him. He looked surprised and disgusted at the same time.

"All that?" I may forgive but I don't forget.

"Yep." I threw the sack in his face then turned around and left. The look on his face would sustain my need for amusement for a good few hours at the very least. And my armor would be clean. It's good to be the prince.


	2. Chapter 2

This beautiful morning in Camelot found me helping Morgana prepare to visit her father's grave. She almost always returns overly emotional, so the rest of us walk on eggshells for a couple days afterward. Still, I sympathize with the desire to visit her lost parent. If I knew where my mother was buried I'd probably visit her too. I stepped forward to help her mount her horse, which involved manhandling her cloak.

I caught Guinevere looking at me and I stopped for a moment to glance back. We've never talked about what happened between us in her home, besides the one time after the tournament. What she must think of me . . . but I can't go back to seeing her the way I used to, like a simple servant. It appears she can't return to how she saw me either.

"I hope your journey isn't too distressing."

"Thank you, Arthur."

I turned to instruct Sir Robert, who was accompanying Morgana and Guinevere for their protection. "Ensure that you make it back to Camelot before nightfall."

"Yes, Sire," he replied. As they rode off, Guinevere turned to glance back at me. She seemed to want to say something. I understood; I wanted to say something back.

The mood was broken when I heard Merlin come ambling down the stairs with the target and crossbow. He saw the ladies' entourage. "Where are they going?"

"Morgana's on a trip to her father's burial place." I continued to watch until I could see them no more.

xxxXxxx

Dusk came and went, but Morgana's party hadn't returned. I requested and received and audience with Father, which was granted right away for once. "Morgana's group hasn't returned to Camelot. There's no trace of her anyplace."

"Dispatch riders to the remote villages. I need every guard and sentry seeking her."

"I'll send them at once." I nodded to the knights behind me to follow as I left. I tried not to think about what could be happening to the two women at this moment. That struck me—I had _two_ women to worry about now.

After I'd dressed in armor, we left immediately. We didn't have to go far before we reached the scene of the attack. Dead men, both Camelot's and bandits' lay around. "Check to see if anyone's living!" I dismounted and walked to one of our fallen guards. I examined the sword sticking in his body, "It's Mercian craftsmanship."

Merlin walked past me and said, "Arthur." He went to the fallen form of Sir Robert and pulled a piece of parchment pinned to his back by a crossbow bolt, "It's a ransom letter! They've taken Morgana hostage."

I looked down at the forest floor. Luckily it was soft enough to hold impressions. "Footprints head off this way," I said, before running into the woods, leading a few men.

We treaded lightly through the woods until I heard running footsteps. I paused and handed my sword to the knight behind me in exchange for a crossbow. I ran forward to hide behind a tree for cover then jumped out to find a startled Morgana. She gasped in terror. "Where's Guinevere?" I asked.

While I did a mental head slap for that lapse, Morgana just looked at me and shook her head. _What was that supposed to mean?_ Is she dead? Hurt and alone? Recaptured? Unfortunately none of that would matter to Father; we had to get Morgana back to Camelot.

xxxXxxx

We rode back quickly, only taking time for Morgana to get dressed and cleaned up a bit. She didn't even want her wounds dressed. She was desperate to see Father and plead with him to search for Guinevere. We walked to the council chamber quickly enough, but she outstripped me and reached Father first.

Father stood upon seeing her and took her hands. "It's such a relief to find you safe and sound. I couldn't stand the idea of anyone hurting you."

I walked up to stand next to them while Morgana said, "The bandits still hold Gwen."

I elaborated, "I believe they were Mercian. We've heard rumors that Hengist has crossed the border."

"Hengist?" Father queried.

"You need to dispatch a rescue party." She nearly cut across him.

"If Hengist has her it would require a small army to rescue your maid," Father replied. That much was the truth. Hengist is one of the most brutal warlords known to us. I remained silent; I was already planning how I could get to her if there were only one—or two—of us.

"We can't leave her there!" She was getting more and more agitated.

"How many troops would you have me throw away to rescue a servant?"

"As many as it takes! Gwen let herself be captured so that I could escape. I owe her my life."

"She did so readily, and she will be revered for it." Father turned and walked away, but she wasn't letting this go. She followed him and grabbed his arm.

"I don't want her revered, I want her saved!" Oh no; now her famous temper was being unleashed. There was a pause before she continued, quieter, "She is not just my maid. She's my friend."

"A servant is of no use to these bandits. I'm afraid she's dead by now." Unfortunately that was probably the truth too. I'd been avoiding thinking about that possibility.

There was another pause as the ramifications hit Morgana. "No! We can't lose hope!" She walked over to me. _Uh oh_. "Arthur? I'm beseeching you. You must do something."

"Father's correct. I fear there's nothing we can do," I said with an impassive face. If I'd said otherwise, Father would probably explode. But I was feeling exactly the opposite inside.

I hated seeing that look of condemnation on her face. "How can you say that?!" Gaius began walking toward her. She looked around at everyone as he began guiding her out of the room. "How can you live with yourselves?! All of you!"

"Perfect Prince Arthur" stood there, watching her leave. But inside I was a mess. I totally empathized with her—Guinevere _was_ much more than a servant to be discarded when convenient. My plan was already firming up in my mind. Guinevere would _not_ be left to that brutal dog.

xxxXxxx

Upon entering my chambers after that fiasco, I immediately began gathering items I'd need for my impromptu trip. Normally this would be Merlin's job, but as we needed to leave _yesterday_, I sent him to pack his own things. Predictably, Hurricane Morgana burst in just a few minutes later. Apparently Gaius had had no luck in calming her.

"How can you be so unfeeling?! Gwen is the most caring, devoted person that you would ever find, and she has been more than a friend to all of us! And you would abandon her to the mercy of those monsters!" I continued packing through her tirade.

Time to break in, "Morgana . . ." She may have taken a breath while I said that.

"Have you no shame? Do you only think of yourself?"

Try number two, "Morgana . . ." She wasn't having it.

"I knew you were many things, Arthur Pendragon, but I never knew you were a spineless coward!"

I was going to have to raise my voice to get more than a word in edgewise, "Morgana!" I finally had her attention, "Maybe if you stopped yelling at me for one second, you would note that I am packing."

She looked contrite. "You're going after Gwen," she said much more calmly.

"Obviously I'm going after her. What did you think I'd do? I couldn't oppose Father in public." I slung my saddlebag over my shoulder and started walking out.

"Arthur?" I stopped and tuned at her voice. "Bring her home."

xxxXxxx

I met Merlin at the entrance and we crept down the stairs to hide behind a cart. Having to deceive my own guards wasn't anything I'd ever imagined doing. But defying Father required clandestine operations. Obviously. "I'll go and get the horses, you distract the guards," I directed him. I got up to head for the stables.

"Wha . . . how do I do that?" was his reply. Clandestine operations were obviously _not_ his forte.

I was already exasperated. "I don't know. Do I have to think of everything?" And I left.

When I returned, I found the guards lying amongst barrels on the floor. _Huh . . ?_ "What did you do? I said distract them, not put them to sleep!"

I looked at him, he looked at me. "There's just no satisfying you sometimes." _What?_ I decided to give it up as a lost cause. We needed to leave.

xxxXxxx

We rode all through the night. I doubted I could sleep anyway—thoughts of torture and death were endlessly running through my mind. So I didn't notice Merlin had fallen off his horse until I heard said horse whinny followed by a crash into the foliage. I turned my horse around to shout at him, "What _are_ you doing, Merlin?"

He looked up at me; I rode closer as he spoke, "I must've dozed off. Ugh, I'm exhausted." He dropped his head to the ground with a sigh. I uncapped my water bottle and emptied it on him as he said, "I can hardly keep my eyes open." Despite that pronouncement, he opened his eyes and lifted his head again, "Thank you. I feel so much better."

I gave him the severest look I could manage. "Guinevere's life is in danger. We don't have time to waste a second."

He got up with an, "Ugh," and we got going.

After a few more hours I relented and we stopped to rest. Merlin found a cozy tree and immediately curled up and fell asleep. I wasn't so lucky; my thoughts kept spinning out of control and denied me rest. After a couple more hours, I re-did my water bottle trick on Merlin's face. He'd probably sleep all day if I let him. "_Merlin!_" As soon as he stirred awake, flailing like a fish out of water, I walked off.

"What's happening? Was I asleep long?"

"Long enough."

"Did you get any rest?"

"Couldn't sleep."

He fixed me with a curious stare. "I haven't ever seen you like this. About anyone." Oh no. _He figured it out?_

So much for readying my horse. "What are you prattling on about?"

"Gwen. You really care about her, don't you?" Great, I _had_ to be right. A diversion is in order.

"What I care about is not squandering any more time chatting. Let's get going."

xxxXxxx

We halted at the tunnels of Andor, a set of interconnected caves infested with some of the largest, most vicious rodents around. I was betting Merlin didn't know about them. I pulled out a map to check our options. I'd really rather avoid the tunnels, but in the interest of time, it didn't look possible. "The ransom is supposed to be taken to the Veil of Denaria. If they're keeping Gwen anywhere, it has to be there. That means it'd cut a day's riding if we go through the tunnels of Andor."

I must have looked pretty grim, because Merlin said next, "Oh, no. I recognize that face. I'm not going to like this, am I? What's in the tunnels?"

I tried to downplay the danger by staying monotone and not looking at him. "They're . . . crawling with Wilddeoren."

He was starting to get spooked—I could sense it. "What are Wilddeoren?"

"Well, they're like massive . . . baby rats." I held my hands wide to indicate "massive," but narrowed them when he looked panicked at that word.

"Baby rats? They don't seem so awful." He hasn't heard the worst part. I looked away again.

"They feast on human flesh." I tried to mutter it quickly, but it was too late. He'd heard.

"Perhaps we ought to go over the mountains." Ah-ha. Fortunately he doesn't make the decisions. I looked around for something that would help sway him. I saw bushes of Gaya berries—they stunk so bad they may just confuse the Wilddeorens' sense of smell.

Merlin followed me with his eyes, obviously thinking I'd lost it. He may be right. "Er . . . what are you doing?"

"Wilddeoren are totally blind, they hunt by smell. Gaya berries will confuse the scent. So, if we coat ourselves with them, maybe we can go through the tunnels unnoticed." That seemed reasonable to him, so he found his own bush to pick from. I smeared some of the foul things on my face. Merlin copied me until the smell hit him.

"Oh! Oh, these reek! Oh, they're really nasty."

Looks like I was going to have to point out the obvious, "Maybe you'd rather be eaten alive."

"Hand me some more, will you?" That snapped him out of it. I smeared some on his face. Well technically that was handing him some.

We made up two torches, got our gear and headed into the tunnels. This will not be fun.

After a few minutes, Merlin walked too close and trod on my foot. "Ah! I just stepped on something," he yelped (predictably).

"That was my foot," I muttered back.

"Oh, sorry." He sounded sincere at least. We walked a few more paces."How much further is it?" As if on cue, a Wilddeoren cry sounded in the not-too-far-off distance.

"Shh!" I saw moving shadows in the scant light ahead, so I threw our torches to the ground and stomped them out. "Wilddeoren coming." We dropped behind a long protruding rock formation to hide. A single Wilddeoren crept toward us, sniffing.

"Whatever happens, stay absolutely still." It came right up to Merlin, sniffing him then licking his face. That was one of the more disgusting things I'd ever seen; too bad I couldn't move or talk. He'd get a good ribbing for that later! It wandered off and we got up to leave. Quickly.

xxxXxxx

A seemingly interminable amount of time later, we finally made it out of the tunnels. Luckily I could hear a stream nearby so we made our way down to it. Mostly to wash the berry bits off. My theory really had panned out! "Gaya berries worked. Huh."

Merlin paused in his washing. "You didn't know if they worked?"

"Not for certain." I stood up. He followed suit.

"Now you tell me?!" He sounded incensed. Justifiably so. "'Oh! Oh, what's that Wilddeoren dining on? It's okay. It's just Merlin.' You aiming to get us both killed?"

Oh all right, he deserves an apology, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't've endangered your life like that."

I should have sensed his change of mood. Unfortunately for me, I didn't. "Well, they do say love causes you to do bizarre things."

"What are you chattering on about?" Oh no, not again.

"Why can't you simply confess your feelings for Gwen?" Yep, again.

I scoffed, making a dismissive sound, as if to say, "Yeah, right."

That didn't put him off. Of course not. I bent over to pick up my sword and sheathe it. "It's so clear. A blind man could see it. Is it truly that hard to confess you like her? Just say it."

Fine. I turned around agitatedly. "I can't!" His face fell; now he's getting the picture."How can I confess that I think about her incessantly? Or that . . . I care about her more than anyone else. How can I confess that . . . I don't know what I'll do if she's hurt?" It was too much; I had to look away.

"Why can't you?" It's not obvious? _Really?!_

Well, the secret's out now—might as well get it _all_ out. "Because nothing can ever happen between us! To confess my feelings understanding that . . . aches too much." There. _Please_ stop asking questions.

"Who said nothing can happen?" Argh!

"My father won't let me save a servant. Do you really think he'd let me marry one?" Oh oh, I didn't mean to admit I'd thought that far out.

"You want to marry Gwen?" Yep, he'd picked up on it. He was surprised though.

"No! No . . . I . . . I don't know . . ." He put up his hands in resignation. "It's a dream, and that's all it can ever be." I turned away again.

"When you're King, you can change that." Where did this hope come from?

"I can't assume Guinevere will wait for me." Why would she? I can't set a date on my ascension to the throne. Father is healthy and strong; he has many good years left.

He walked toward me; that goofy smile was back. "If she feels like you do, she'll wait for you."

"We don't know if she's even alive." Am I determined to stay depressed or what?

"No, she is. We will get her back." How did he know? I could use some of that hope and optimism. I could see he meant what he said and that helped.

I turned. "Come on. We've got a lengthy walk ahead." Then I thought of something that needed to be said before all of Camelot knew my secret. I swiveled to face him again. "Oh, and Merlin . . . if you ever hint to anyone about this, I swear I will make your life a living hell."

"You mean, more than you currently do?" Cheeky little . . .

"Yeah," I replied, faux menacingly. I turned back around to continue walking.

"We could chat about your feelings as we walk." He couldn't just leave it alone. He's getting my standard reply in situations like this:

"Shut up, Merlin."

xxxXxxx

Night had fallen before we reached Hengist's fortress. We surveyed it from behind the tree line. Unfortunately for us, it was well-guarded. I made a quick decision based on available _unguarded_ entryways. "We'll have to climb the walls."

Merlin didn't like the sound of that. "Perhaps there's a different way in."

Once again I had to point out the obvious. "Why don't you try and knock on the front gate? I'm certain if you ask politely, they'll just give you Guinevere."

That got him moving. We crept stealthily to the short tower. I analyzed it briefly before pulling on some of the stones cemented to it. They would hold us all right, so I started climbing. Merlin, though reluctant, followed. We were most of the way up when one of his hands slipped and he gasped.

"You _really_ are totally hopeless, aren't you, Merlin?" I looked down at him. His hand slipped again. As if I needed more evidence.

"It's . . . tougher than it appears." I resumed climbing at a quicker pace than before. "Oh, now you're just showing off," I heard him call up to me.

Before too much longer, we'd made it up and over the top of the tower. We walked quietly down to an inhabited floor. _Why couldn't Merlin be this quiet while hunting?_ I wondered idly. We reached a room with a couple of guards and poked our heads around the corner to survey the scene. Two men were playing at dice. I decided on a plan. "You distract them. I'll knock them out."

Of course he had to ask _again_, "How do I distract them?" I didn't have time for this. I put my arm around him, as if I was going to whisper to him, then shoved him into the room.

"What are you doing here?" I heard a bandit say.

Let's see what nonsense he came up with here. "Nothing. It's a funny story really. I was out hiking and I made a wrong turn and here I am. Do you know the way to the Veil of Danaria?"

Of course they didn't believe him. "Who are you?"

"Me? Er, I'm no one . . ." He stammered. I stood up behind the two bandits. "It's him you should fear." He was nice and pointed at me behind them. I punched them in the face simultaneously. They fell to the floor unconscious, and we stripped them of their outer clothes. Armor would stand out here. We dragged them to a dark corner of the room.

"That actually worked fairly well." Why yes it did, thank you for pointing that out. We left the room.

We walked until we reached a great hall. It sounded like most of the population of the fortress was in there. Dozens of voices yelled, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" Underneath that, I heard other voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Suddenly one loud voice rang over all the others, "Release the Wilddeoren!" Not good. I heard a metal gate lift and the screaming cries of at least one Wilddeoren. I took that as my cue to begin the rescue. We entered the room as if we belonged.

An awful scene met our eyes. The bandits were yelling taunts and laughing. Through a gap in the crowd I saw Guinevere and Lancelot tied to each other in a cage, the Wilddeoren sniffing closer and closer to their position. I drew my sword and used a few backs to climb up and into the cage. I pulled off the mask I wore.

Guinevere yelled, "Arthur!" I cut open their bonds and tossed Lancelot a spare sword. I pulled Guinevere behind us and faced the rampaging Wilddeoren in front of us.

As we hacked at it, I made time for small talk. "What are you doing here, Lancelot?"

"I came to rescue Gwen. How about you?"

"Likewise." I pulled Guinevere as we shifted positions around the Wilddeoren, saying to her, "Get behind us." There was a sudden loud sound behind us to my left, but I didn't have time to figure it out.

"The tunnel is our only option," I said to the two next to me. Time to go. "Merlin!" I turned to see him crawling on the floor. Typical. "Don't sit there trembling, let's go!"

"Get them!" Someone, Hengist I presume, yelled. He came though the cage door the same time Merlin jumped over the top and into it. We ran through an entryway to a tunnel and turned to see what was happening.

"Take Guinevere! I'll keep them away," Lancelot yelled.

Guinevere protested, of course, "No!"

"Guinevere, it's time to go!" I yelled and pulled her down the tunnel. Behind us I heard the gate fall and a man scream. Hopefully that was Hengist and he was now Wilddeoren fodder. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Soon we heard footsteps behind us—Lancelot and Merlin had caught up. The four of us ran until we reached bars at the end of the tunnel. I tried to break the chain locking us in.

Now that we had stopped, we could catch our breath. "Good to see you two. Where are your knights?" Lancelot asked.

"It's only us. Need to keep moving." I don't think that consoled anyone. What happened next didn't console _me_. Lancelot reached a hand to help Guinevere up, and held on a lot longer than needed. And the way they smiled at each other was like a punch in the gut. I tried to refocus on getting out of here.

Guinevere went through the opened grate first, followed by Merlin. Lancelot grabbed my arm to prevent me going through. "Thank you, Arthur. We owe you our lives." I nodded and ducked through; he followed.

We walked until we mutually agreed we were far enough away to stop for the night. What was left of it. Merlin built us a campfire and we all sat on fallen branches around it. Lancelot sat next to Guinevere—_was he claiming her?_ No one spoke for a while; only awkward glances were exchanged until Lancelot broke the silence, "I'm amazed you would take on such a rescue mission . . . with only the two of you."

I assumed that was directed at me. "My father would not chance the lives of his knights for a servant."

"And yet you defied him and came here anyhow."

I struggled with how to answer. I decided to go with a partial truth. A very small partial truth. "Honestly, I came simply because Morgana pled with me." I watched Merlin hide a grin; I silently willed him to stay quiet. Guinevere glanced at me, then away. Either she was disappointed or didn't believe me either.

She put a fake smile on her face and said, "I believe I'll get some rest." She then got up and walked off.

"Everyone should get some rest," I said, and got up to find my own place. As if I could with _this_ situation happening around me.

As if he knew he was in deep water, Lancelot said, "I'll take watch for a while." He too got up and leaned against a tree.

"I'll just . . . sit here, then," Merlin replied offhand. Must be hard sitting in the middle of an obvious love triangle. That's the last thing I heard before I fell asleep. My mind decided to shut up after all.

Sometime later, I woke. I'm not sure how long I slept, but I noticed Lancelot was nowhere to be found. I got up and walked into the woods to clear my head. When I got back, I saw Guinevere and Merlin standing still, like they'd had a conversation. She didn't look happy and turned her back to me. I could guess what the conversation was about, but couldn't summon the energy to care. It was time to go. "We have a long trek ahead of us."

When we reached the horses, Merlin gave his to Guinevere without anyone asking. He walked the rest of the way home. No one said much of anything. What was there to say? We all missed Lancelot for vastly different reasons and needed to come to terms with our mangled feelings.

xxxXxxx

When we reached home, Merlin took the horses' reins and led them to the stables to take care of them. I nodded at Guinevere to follow me into the castle. Morgana stood at the top of the staircase, seemingly staring at nothing. I walked up the stairs, Guinevere right behind me so Morgana wouldn't see her when she looked at me. "Morgana. Someone's here to see you." As I spoke, I stepped aside to reveal Guinevere, who ran into Morgana's arms.

"Gwen! I believed I'd never see you again," she exclaimed. They turned around in their embrace, until Guinevere faced me. We stared at each other, this time not knowing what to say. I turned and walked tiredly back down the stairs.

xxxXxxx

After we'd cleaned up and changed clothes, Merlin and I headed out across the square on an errand. On our way, we passed an older couple walking arm in arm. The looked happy to simply be together. That caused a twinge somewhere in the vicinity of my stomach, but I couldn't let my love life, or lack thereof, color my interactions with others. I managed to smile and nod to them. Then I tuned back into what Merlin was babbling.

"Look on the bright side, you still have me." He noticed that look? Ugh.

"You believe that will cheer me up?"

"Thought it could."

"You really are a total idiot, aren't you, Merlin?" On second thought, calling him an _idiot_ does cheer me up after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Aaaaand here's what our sweet prince thinks during 2.08, _The Sins of the Father_. Brace yourself- it's almost 7,000 words long! :O I found this one pretty challenging, mostly because of the angst. I don't do angst I guess, since I've deal with depression for half my life, bleah. The next chapter will be _Sweet Dreams_, yay!**

* * *

It's night in Camelot. The court is gathered in the Hall for a knighting ceremony. Fortunately for us, several men have recently passed the test. They would be a welcome addition to our knights' corps. I stood slightly behind and to the left of Father as he conducted the ceremony.

"Arise Sir Vidor, Knight of Camelot. Arise Sir Caradoc, Knight of Camelot," he said, then started slowly pacing in front of the new knights, giving them their charge. "You have been given a grand honor. However, that honor comes with great responsibility. From this day forward, you vow to live by the knights' code. You have promised to comport yourselves with respect, honor, and dignity. Your word is your sacred bond. You will discover no one who better embodies these morals than my son, Arthur. Follow his example, and you will validate yourselves deserving of your title."

Suddenly the entire court turned to the door—there was the sound of sword fighting outside. A lone knight entered the room. The new knights drew their swords as the knight approached. I stepped to the front of the group and the knight halted. He took off his gauntlet and dropped it at my feet. Of course I picked it up.

"I consent to your challenge. If I'm to meet you in combat, show me the consideration of revealing your face."

Everyone stared at the knight as he started to remove his helmet. I only just kept my shock from showing on my face as _she_ shook her long blonde tresses from their captivity. A woman. Well, that was new!

"My name is Morgause," she said.

Father quickly called the room to order. The celebration was postponed and everyone, save Sir Geoffrey, sent away. This Morgause was offered a room in the castle, and she was conducted there without further comment from her. After a quickly whispered conversation with Father, Geoffrey headed out of the room. I suspected he was off to the library too look up precedents to this unique situation. I knew I had no wish to fight a woman; that just wasn't done, was it? Father told me to go to my chambers to wait until summoned. I left gladly.

A couple of hours later, I was summoned to the council chamber. _It didn't take old Geoff that long, did it?_ I thought. So down I went to see what he'd found.

"I've examined the records going back over 300 years. I couldn't find anything to say a woman cannot initiate a challenge," Sir Geoffrey said. I sat on the table, trying to look nonchalant.

"There has to be a way to put a halt to this," Father stated.

"As per the Knight's Rules, it seems her challenge is completely valid."

I was already frustrated by the whole situation. I turned and said, "It appears there's nothing we can do."

"We know nothing about this woman! I won't let you meet her in combat!" Father's trying to coddle me again; I really hate that.

I faced him. "I agreed to the challenge. If I decline the fight, it'll be viewed as an act of cowardice."

"She murdered five guards. You shouldn't take her too lightly." Oh brother, that's so obvious.

I rolled my eyes at him. We've been here before. "I can't require my knights to support the code, then be noticed breaking it myself. I must face her tomorrow." I wasn't going to budge on this—he should know that from the last time, when he had to _force_ me to miss a duel. I turned and left the room because this debate was _over_.

xxxXxxx

Back in my chambers, I paced silently while Merlin hammered away at my armor. It was annoying, but I was too deep in my brooding to really care. Apparently he cared enough to try and bring me out of my thoughts. Just great.

"Do you know why she challenged you?" he asked.

"I'm the King's son. Maybe she thought she would prove herself."

"Yeah, but you don't wish to fight her, do you?"

"I don't have a choice. If I decline fighting her, I'm a coward. If I kill her, what am I then?" I walked around behind him then stopped to look at him. He gave me an odd look. "What is it?"

"You haven't ever met a woman in combat. What if you waver? She could use that to her benefit." Thanks for the vote of confidence.

"You think she's going to beat me."

"I'm just saying. You must be wary, because it looks like she's fairly handy with a sword." No kidding—she killed five very well-trained knights.

"Since when do you understand anything about combat?" I walked to the fireplace and thought for a moment. I really didn't want to fight her, but I didn't want to lose face either. "I want you to convey a message to Morgause for me. If I'm seen doing it, it could be viewed as cowardice. You need to convince her to abandon her challenge."

And with that charge, Merlin left to talk to her. When he returned he told me she'd refused. It looked like the fight was on. I'd have to try to kill a girl—it felt so wrong, so against the Knight's Code. But it's what she wanted, apparently. I had to wonder if there was anything behind it besides challenging "the King's son."

xxxXxxx

The next day finally dawned, and with it a fight prompted by the first challenge by a woman in recorded history. To say I wasn't looking forward to this was an understatement. Nevertheless, Merlin was here preparing me for the fight.

"You gave her the option to withdraw. Whatever transpires, you are not at fault." But is that true though? I tried not to show my uncertainty as we walked to the tournament grounds. I tried telling myself, _it's just another fight; it's just another fight_ . . .

By the time we got there, Morgause was already waiting in the center. The crowd was clapping and cheering until Father stood to say his piece, "This fight is by the Knights' Rules. And to the death."

I walked closer to her to make one last proposal, "I'm giving you a final opportunity to withdraw. I advise you to take it." She merely turned her head and looked at me, denial clearly visible in her eyes. "Then you give me no choice." I then walked away to ready myself.

Morgause immediately went on the offensive, striking and slashing with a trained hand. She was surprisingly strong for a woman, but she couldn't match my strength. After a minute or two, I managed to disarm her and land a cut on her sword arm. I back off while she examined her arm, then motioned for her to pick up her sword. The crowd cheered its approval.

She picked up her sword and went on the offensive again, but only for a moment. I managed to overpower her and she backed up against the wood partition. She managed to block as I rained blow after blow on her. Finally she rolled to dodge and I hit the partition. She kicked me in the back of my knees and I went down hard, my helmet rolling off. In a second, her sword tip was at my heart and I slowly fell to the ground. She whipped off her helmet and leaned down a bit to speak quietly, "Make me an oath and I will show you mercy."

I was stunned in more ways than one. "What is it you ask?"

"Come to me three days from now and agree to the challenge I set you."

"What kind of challenge?"

"That is for me to choose," she paused. I didn't like the sound of that. "Do I have your word that you will agree to it, no matter what?"

"You have my word." What else could I do? She dropped her sword then reached out a hand to pull me to standing. As I steadied myself, she walked toward Father, who stood. She bowed her head to him, then walked away. Father looked at me—he didn't say anything, but I knew he was disappointed. And it didn't take a genius to see why. His son, the best fighter in the realm, had just lost a fight _to a girl_. This is easily the most _humiliating_ moment of my life. I lowered my head, hoping the crowd would disappear quickly so I could walk back to my chambers alone. I didn't quite get that luxury; Merlin was waiting for me. Fortunately he had the grace to be quiet, until we reached my chambers.

I slouched over my table face down, so I wouldn't have to see the world. Merlin just took that as his cue to remove my armor.

"It could've been worse," he said. Was that supposed to make me feel better?

"How, precisely, could it have been worse?"

"You could be dead."

"At least I wouldn't have to face everybody. I've never been so humiliated in my whole life. I was beaten by a girl."

"It's really pretty funny when you think about it." He sounded amused, so I turned my head to glare at him. "Or not."

I sat up in the nearby chair. "No. It's as you said. I held back because I was fighting a woman. I was concerned I was going to harm her. That's why she won."

"You didn't look like you held back . . ." He stopped when I turned to glare at him, _again_. "I'll stop talking now," he wisely declared. _Best idea you've had all day, _Mer_lin_. Ugh.

Even though it was still very early, all I wanted to do was flop down onto my bed face-first and ignore the rest of the world. So that's what I did, until dinner. I couldn't wait until this day was over.

xxxXxxx

Early the next day, I decided to put off facing the world by going for a ride. I led my horse out of the drawbridge gate and stopped. Morgause was there, preparing her horse for travel. I decided the best way to avoid awkwardness was by being gracious. "Congratulations on your win. You're an expert swordsman. Woman. Swords . . . swordswoman." Ugh, I wanted to smack myself in the face.

She walked over to my horse, admiring it for a few moments. "You have a fine-looking horse." Then she looked at me, as if to emphasize what she'd say next, "I shall expect to see you in three days' time."

"How will I find you?"

"At the right time you will know your way." _Wait, what?_ How?

She walked back to her horse. "If I don't turn up it could be because I don't know where I'm going."

"The trail you must follow will become plain to you," she said, then mounted her horse. "I should thank you for permitting me to reclaim my sword." Does she ever give straight answers? Exasperating!

"I'm beginning to think I shouldn't've."

"You proved yourself to be a man of honor. You inherited that characteristic from your mother." Huh? I looked over at her.

"You knew my mother?" _Please give me a straight answer!_

"I knew her very well." She nudged her horse and rode rapidly away.

"Wait!" I yelled futilely. I started to go after her but realized something—this was her way of ensuring I'd come to her. I just hope what she want me to do isn't _improper_.

xxxXxxx

The ride wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped. And I doubted I'd get any more relaxed in my next appointment—a meeting with Father in the council chamber. He wanted to discuss what Morgause had said to me. This wasn't going to go over well.

"So, what did this Morgause say to you? Father inquired. He was in the midst of signing documents.

"She said that she would show me mercy if I made her an oath."

"What was the oath?"

"That I would go to her in three days and meet the challenge she will set."

"And what type of challenge will this be?" I could see where this was going, and it wasn't good.

"She didn't say. But I gave her my word that I would agree to it no matter what." And that's that. I hope.

"You shouldn't have made such a promise. You have no clue what she might require of you."

"She had her sword at my chest. I had no other option." I paused; he won't react well to the next bit. "Morgause said that she knew my mother." Talking about her always makes him tetchy.

"She told you this?" I nodded; he stood. "Clearly she's lying. She's using your affections for your mother to draw you into a trap." Is that what he really thinks?

"That doesn't add up. She spared my life." Why would she do that if she wanted me dead?

"It proves my misgivings. I think Morgause is an enchantress. How else could she have beaten you?" That could be it . . . oh _thanks_ for rubbing that in my face.

"I don't think she was using magic." It didn't _feel_ like she was.

"And how you would know for sure if she were? Under no condition will you go see her, or take this challenge." He'd started to raise his voice.

"I gave her my word!" I walked around the table to him.

"I don't care what you told her. You will stay in Camelot." He sat back down. Assured he was right, he made his decree.

"I need to learn what she knows about my mother." I have a right to know!

"She knows nothing. She is lying. You won't get to her. I forbid it." How's he going to stop me?

"So I am to go back on my word?" I _don't_ do that, _ever_!

"Conduct my son to his chambers. Under no circumstances will he be permitted to leave." _What?!_

"You're imprisoning me in my chambers?" I was angry, and strangely enough, amused. If I wanted to leave, he couldn't stop me.

"I am saving you from your own stupidity!" He yelled to me, just before the guards each took one of my arms. I decided to go easy on them. He was being stupidly overprotective _again_, but fighting now wouldn't get me anywhere but the dungeon.

The guards walked me to my chambers and let me in. I assumed they stayed outside; that was standard policy when confining someone to their chambers. I didn't have to wait long before Merlin showed up with a laundry basket. I sat in the window, digging at the stone with a dagger.

"Why are your chambers being guarded?" He looked and sounded confused.

"My father has confined me to my chambers and has barred me from taking Morgause's challenge."

"Well, perhaps he's got a point. You, you don't know what she could've expected you to do." Not him too—_again_! Oh it was so tempting to throw that dagger . . .

"I gave her my word."

"So, I assume we're going anyway." _Now_ he gets it.

"You're brighter than you look. Collect some supplies, we depart tonight. Oh, and Merlin . . . figure out a way to get me out of here."

xxxXxxx

Well after nightfall, Merlin entered carrying a satchel. "I have the supplies," he said.

As I looked at him, I noticed he seemed a little thicker around the middle, "Merlin, is it my imagination, or are you growing fatter?"

He lifted up his shirt to show me he'd wrapped rope around his torso. I guess he really is smarter than he looks. He unwound himself and tossed the rope on the floor.

"So how's this going to work?" I asked. "I lower you down to the ground then anchor the rope to climb down myself?"

"Not what I had in mind. That would leave the rope in here as evidence. I'll lower you down, then stash the rope away someplace. Then I'll come find you. That way I won't be implicated in your escape."

I rolled my eyes. "All right." I didn't bother to point out that the fact that he'd be missing also would implicate him. He pulled out some gloves and picked up the rope. I grabbed the other end. He pulled on it a couple of times to test it while I opened the window and looked down. I _really_ didn't want to fall all that way.

"Are you certain you're strong enough to support me?"

"Yeah. I'm stronger than I look." That didn't reassure me at all. I stepped up and through the window, perching on the outside for a moment before I jumped off. I got halfway down then suddenly stopped. "What are you doing? Let down the rope!" I tried to yell quietly.

"There is no more rope!" I wanted to bang my head on the wall, then he yelled, "I don't think I can hold on much longer!" _Oh no_. If he lets go . . .

"Merlin, don't let go of the ro . . ." Free falling is not so fun. At least I'd landed in something not so hard—unfortunately for me, it was dung. Face first. I saw him poke his head out the window, so I glared. He is _so_ getting nonstop chores when we get back!

xxxXxxx

We'd been riding through the night when we came to a fork in the path. _Oh great, now which way?_ How was I supposed to know again? II was going to look like a fool in front of Merlin, _again_. We stopped.

"Which way? Do you really know where we're going?" And so it begins.

I made a wild guess and pointed to the left path. "It's this way." I tried to steer the horse that way, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on. What's the matter with this horse? It's even stupider than you, Merlin!" When it finally moved, it went in front of Merlin, to the _right_.

"Where are you going? Didn't you say it was left?" Was it me or was he amused at my expense _again_?

"It's not me! It's the horse! Morgause told me. When it's time, you'll find your way." I looked back at him. Of course he didn't believe me.

"So the horse knows where we're going. Lovely." I shared that sentiment.

We continued riding through the seemingly endless woods. I was sure we'd crossed out of Camelot's lands a while ago. If that wasn't enough to set me on edge, Merlin kept up a seemingly endless stream of chatter too.

"What if Morgause has you do something you don't want to do?" He asked. I'd thought of that myself, but it all came back to the fact I'd given my word.

"I don't expect it to be easy, Merlin. That's why it's called a challenge."

"So you'd do whatever she asks of you?"

"I gave her my word. It's a matter of honor."

"What if she makes you do something even less honorable than breaking your word?" Was he insinuating what I thought he was insinuating? That's beyond insulting!

"Will you stop rabbitting on? We're in Odin's lands. We could be attacked at any second."

"I simply think it's odd to agree to do something when you don't know what it is."

"One more word out of you, Merlin, and you'll be doing the challenge in my stead." There was a sudden thud as a crossbow bolt hit a tree right next to Merlin. His horse reared and he fell off. I just _had_ to be right about Odin's men. I _really_ had to stop saying those kinds of things. This was one time I wouldn't have minded being wrong.

Men came running out of the forest, so I dismounted quickly and drew my sword. The first didn't last long after he'd engaged me. The second came roaring up to Merlin with an axe. I turned quickly, felling him by virtue of a dagger to the back. The third was a bit better than the first, but went down as well. I thought I'd heard another man yell behind me, so I turned to look. It looked like he'd simply fallen out of a tree. I thanked his dumb luck for that.

I was breathing heavily, and there was Merlin on the ground, as usual. "Don't fret, Merlin. I'll handle this, you lie there, get cozy." I walked away, back to my horse; why did I always have to do all the hard work?

Merlin picked himself up and led his horse to where I was. "Perhaps we should turn around. The woods could be filled with Odin's men."

He sounded really worried, but that wasn't going to stop me, so I gave him an out, "You can turn around if you want; I won't stop you."

"You don't know a thing about Morgause! You don't know what she'll ask you to do! We don't even know where we're going, a horse is leading us!"

"Morgause said she knew my mother." That stopped his rant. He knew her story, and probably knew how little _I_ knew about her. I didn't think he'd object anymore and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to leave me either.

xxxXxxx

A few hours later we decided to stop for the night. It wasn't quite twilight, but we'd been awake for two days and it had taken its toll. Merlin built us a campfire and we sat there enjoying the warmth while staring out into space. Of course he had to break the silence.

"What was your mother like?"

I didn't look at him; I wasn't exactly comfortable with this subject. "I never knew her. She passed before I opened my eyes."

"I'm sorry."

"I hardly know anything about her."

"Can't you ask your father?" I looked up then. He'd hit on one of the points of contention between me and my father.

"He won't talk about her. It must be too upsetting for him. Sometimes it's as if she never even lived. Yet I have a sense of her. Nearly as if she's part of me." How does he manage to drag these sensitive admissions out of me? I looked down again; it was too painful to acknowledge.

"That's the same with my father. I never knew him." He's never spoken of his father before, and maybe that's why. I looked up again—I sensed he felt the same way I did. "And my mother's hardly ever spoken of him. I've got this . . . hazy memory. It's probably only my imagination." Yes, he was as frustrated as I.

"I'd do anything for even the haziest memory." At least he _maybe_ had that.

"Is that why you're so bent on finding Morgause? To learn what she knows about your mother?" As usual he's seen right through me. How _does_ he do that?

"Is that so wrong?" I really wanted to know for some reason.

"No." He hadn't even hesitated.

And that was it; I'd hit emotional overload and needed to escape. "I could use some rest." I got up and sought after my bedroll.

xxxXxxx

We rose fairly early in the morning and got going quickly. Mercifully Merlin wasn't nearly as chatty, but my horse still led the way. It was pretty frustrating not knowing where we were going or what we would face there, but since I couldn't do anything about either I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. After not much more riding, we came into a valley with a small lake. On the side opposite us, a waterfall churned away. This didn't look good for my horse's navigation skills.

"It appears your horse has led us to a dead end." Merlin evidently agreed.

But my horse wasn't done yet—it walked forward _into_ the lake, like it was still determined to reach its destination. "Now where's he going?" I had no choice but to stay where I was or get soaked.

Merlin couldn't resist poking fun, "I think you're going to get drenched."

"No kidding." I took the opportunity to take in the scenery.

"Arthur?" From the sound of splashing behind me, I could tell Merlin had decided to follow me. Good on him!

The horse carried me toward the waterfall. I really hoped we wouldn't hit rock. To my surprise, we went right through the water and into a cave—tunnel, rather, since it opened on the other side. The horse continued into the woods on the other side. An obviously neglected castle lay around a corner. We stopped there and I contemplated the castle while waiting for Merlin to catch up.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"No idea," I replied, and we nudged the horses forward to find an entrance.

"If we weren't already certain Morgause was a sorceress, we can be sure of it now." I silently agreed. Hey, that gave me an idea . . .

"That must've been why she beat me. She was using magic." When all other explanations fail, blame magic. It works for Father.

"Hmm, it didn't seem like she was." _What?_ I looked back at him, incredulous.

"And what would you know about magic, _Mer_lin?"

"Nothing." We finally found a door with steps leading upward. So we dismounted and entered a chamber empty, except for a block of wood with an axe embedded in it.

I picked up the axe and asked the obvious, "Now what?"

"Perhaps we should ask the horse." He got a glare for that. I swung the axe back into the wood. He started back down the stairs, "Well, there's no one here."

A female voice from nowhere said, "You kept your word." I whipped around, looking for its source, and spotted Morgause descending from another staircase. She walked forward and stopped an arm's length away from me.

"What kind of challenge you want to give me?" I asked.

She turned toward the axe, "Put your head on the block." I followed her movements as she picked up the axe. "You gave me your word that you would do whatever I asked."

Behind me, Merlin said, "Arthur, don't." The voice of reason. I contemplated that for a few moments then walked over to the block.

I heard alarm in his voice when he said, "What are you doing?" I knelt down to place my head on the block anyway. "I won't let this happen!"

What's he going to do? "Keep out of this, Merlin!" I yelled back. I felt the axe move through the air and nearly touch my neck as she took a practice swing. The anticipation was going to kill me if the axe didn't. I could almost hear the whoosh of air as it came down . . . to rest, head down, beside the block. I stood up, startled and relieved.

"You've proven that you are indeed a man of your word, Arthur Pendragon, and for that I'll grant you one wish. Tell me what your heart desires most," she said. She'd walked slightly away from me and turned around.

I walked toward her, "You told me you knew my mother. I want to learn all that you know of her."

"Maybe you'd like to see her." _What? How?_ I was ending up surprised a lot lately.

"I want that more than anything," I said back to her, without hesitation.

"As you wish," she replied and turned to head back up the stairs she'd descended. I followed her and assumed that Merlin would too.

She led us into an interior chamber. The walls, buttresses and altar were covered in some kind of vegetation. There were several lit braziers scattered about, and the altar was covered in lit candles. It looked like Merlin's sorceress theory was correct. I looked around while she went behind the altar to light more candles.

"Are you certain you want to go through with this?" Merlin asked. He sounded pretty apprehensive; I felt the same way. I was about to condone the use of magic in my presence.

"If you were given the same chance, wouldn't you want to meet your father?" He conceded that point, but came up with another:

"The King won't forgive you if he learns you've worked with a sorcerer."

"What if my father's view of magic is wrong?" I wasn't sure when I'd first thought that, but there it was.

"You actually think that?" He sounded surprised and . . . relieved? Nah, that couldn't be right.

I pondered for a moment. "Maybe it's not as plain as he would have us think. Morgause is a sorcerer; she has done us no harm. Certainly not all who practice magic can be evil."

"We don't even know why she's doing this." She turned around then, glancing at Merlin before focusing on me.

"It is time." She held out her had to me, so I walked over to take it. "Close your eyes." I did so. "_Arásae mid min miclan mihte þín suna to helpe. Hider eft funde on þisse ne middangeard þín suna w'æs_." Almost as soon as she began incanting those strange words, a wind blew through the room. I shivered; I could definitely feel _something_ happening.

Suddenly I heard a new female voice say, "Arthur." I opened my eyes to see a beautiful blonde woman standing a few yards in front of me. "Arthur," she said again. It could only be my . . .

"Mother." I couldn't believe it, let alone move. She ran towards me.

"My son." When she reached me, she threw her arms around me in a fierce embrace. "When I last held you, you were a small baby." She let go to look in my face. "I remember your eyes. You were looking up at me. Those few moments I held you were the most cherished of my life." She laid a hand on my cheek. She certainly felt real.

"I'm so sorry," I replied.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." _She doesn't blame me?_

"It was my birth that brought about your death."

"No, you are not to blame."

"I cannot tolerate the idea that you died because of me." Shame and sorrow were overwhelming me.

She threw her arms around me again. "Don't think that. It is your father who should bear the guilt for what took place."_ Father?_

"What are you saying?"

"It is not pertinent. What matters is that you are alive." She let go again as I spoke.

"Why should my father feel guilty?

"Better to leave it in the past." She really didn't want to say. But I couldn't bear not knowing.

"You can't leave me with more questions. Please."

She looked away before speaking. "Your father, he was anxious for an heir. Without a son, the Pendragon line would come to an end. But I was barren."

"Then how was I born? Tell me."

She finally looked back at me. "Your father deceived me. He called on the sorceress Nimueh and asked for her aid in conceiving a child . . . You were born of magic." I felt like I'd been stabbed in the back—a few times. I couldn't believe it.

"That can't be true."

"I'm sorry, Arthur. Your father has betrayed you as he betrayed me. To create a life, a life must be given. Your father knew that." I shook my head in desperation.

"No," was all I could manage without breaking down.

"He sacrificed my life so the Pendragon line could go on. It makes you neither less my son, nor me any less pleased with you. Now that I see you, I would have offered my life gladly." I couldn't bear to look at her anymore. "Don't let this realization change you." I shook my head repeatedly. How could I not let it change me? Everything I knew about my birth was a lie!

That strange wind blew through the room again. I looked back up to Mother, but she was gone. "No! Bring her back!" I yelled at Morgause.

"I cannot. Once the doorway is shut, it is shut forever." She looked as if she would if she could, then walked to me. "I am very sorry that you discovered your mother's fate in this way. I can just imagine how it must feel to learn your father is to blame for her death. It is an unpardonable betrayal."

She left the room. I stood there, unable to sort out the thoughts and emotions whirling through my head. I couldn't even move or look or move around—the confusion had paralyzed me.

"Are you okay?" I flinched at Merlin's words, but didn't move. "Arthur?" Suddenly a plan came to mind, cutting through the haze in my head.

"Get the horses. We're going back to Camelot."

xxxXxxx

It was a quiet ride home. Neither of us spoke much beyond the necessities. I just assumed that Merlin was as shocked as I was. The return trip passed much quicker—I wanted to reach home as fast as possible, so we pushed the horses.

I had only a single thought on my mind as we rode into the main square. I jumped off my horse almost before it stopped and drew my sword from the saddle. Behind me, I heard Merlin dismount while I hurried to the steps and up them.

"What are you going to do?" I heard him yell, but I ignored him. I kept walking toward my destination, toward where my lying, backstabbing father was—the council chamber. Nothing and no one would stop me from confronting him.

My fury kept building as I walked down corridors and climbed stairs. I knew _exactly_ what I was going to say to him. He would _not_ get away without explaining what he did and _why_. The guards at the door immediately noticed my furious countenance and opened the doors before I reached them. As I entered, I noticed Father looking over some papers with Sir Leon. He looked up when he heard my steps. I put my hand on my sword.

"Arthur. Where have you been? I've had search patrols out looking for you." I didn't bother replying to him. "Arthur?"

"I know . . . what you did to my mother." I poured as much venom as possible into those words.

_Finally_ he noticed how upset I was. To Sir Leon he said, "Leave us. No one is to enter." Leon exited the room and closed the doors. Good, now we won't be interrupted. "What are you on about?"

"You were so anxious for an heir, you were ready to use magic."

"Did Morgause tell you this? She's lying." He's so calm, so sure he's right.

"My mother is dead because of your pride and selfishness. Her blood is on your hands."

"No. That's not right. But Morgause would have you think that." He was _very_ quick to refute, like someone denying their guilt.

"This is what feeds your loathing for those who perform magic. Instead of blaming yourself for what you did, you blame them."

"You would trust a sorcerer's lies over the assurance of your own father? I can only assume that Morgause has enchanted you." Not that same old excuse again!

I raised my voice further, "You pursued her people like animals! How many hundreds have you sentenced to death to relieve your guilt?"

He raised his voice as well, "Those who perform magic will do anything to destroy us! I have simply done what was needed to defend this kingdom!"

I nearly cut him off, "You speak of respect and dignity! You're nothing but a hypocrite and a liar!" He was using the same rationalizations for my mother's death as he's used to keep fueling the Purge!

"I am your father and your king. You will give me some respect!" Respect? How could I respect a liar? He could respect my challenge! I took off my gauntlet and threw it at his feet. "Have you taken leave of your senses?" He was shocked.

"Pick it up," I said, deathly quiet.

"Arthur, I beseech you, consider what you're doing."

"Pick _it_ up." He's not getting out of this.

"I won't fight you."

I drew my sword and advanced on him. "If you prefer not to defend yourself, I will kill you where you stand."

"You are my son. You won't attack an unarmed man." Oh, am I?

"I no longer consider myself your son."

"Then attack me." Oh he'd get his wish. I stared him down for a minute, before striking at his left side with a furious roar. Sadly, he'd gone back on his word and had brought up his sword to parry.

He dropped it, realizing what he'd done. He backed away as he said, "I don't want to fight you." I didn't respond; just twirled my sword and advanced to strike again.

We traded blow after blow, fast and furious. At least _I_ was furious; he looked genuinely afraid. Good. "Arthur, stop this!" He said without stopping. I replied with my sword. After a few more blows, he managed a vicious swipe, which I managed to dodge. I shifted back into ready position and he copied me, looking astonished at what he'd done. I started backing him around the table, then started striking again, pausing only when I hit a column. I turned around and we resumed fighting, even more furiously than before. I could vaguely hear voices yelling outside the doors. I managed to knock his sword down to the table and kicked him into his chair. I grabbed him by the collar and prepared to strike the final blow through his heart.

Suddenly I heard the doors fly open behind me. I didn't know who came through until he yelled, "Arthur! Stop! I know you don't want to do this!"

I should have known it would be him! "My mother died because of what he did!" I yelled back.

"Executing your father won't return her to life." He lowered his voice, "You've lost one parent. Do you truly wish to lose another?" I was starting to feel torn between grief and anger.

"Listen to him, Arthur," Father said.

"Arthur, please, put away the sword." As much as I didn't want to admit it, Merlin was getting through to me—NO! I wanted to be furious!

"You heard what my mother told me! After all he has done, do you think he ought to live?! He condemns those who perform magic, and yet he has used it himself!" I replied to him. To Father I said, "You have caused so much misery and hurt! I will put a stop to that!"

"Morgause is lying! She's a sorceress. She deceived you. That wasn't your mother you met. That was a trick. Everything . . . everything your mother told you . . . those were Morgause's words." Merlin seemed to struggle for words a bit there.

"You don't know that!" I yelled desperately.

"That was her plan from the start! To turn you away from your father. And if you kill him, the kingdom will be devastated! She wants this!"

Father interjected again, "Listen to him, he's telling the truth."

I turned my attention to him. "Swear to me that it isn't true! You are not to blame for my mother's death! Promise me!"

"I swear on my life, I loved your mother. There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish that she was still with us. I couldn't ever have done anything to harm her." I lost it then—the anger, the betrayal—it dissipated and the grief overwhelmed me. My sword slipped from my hand and I fell onto my knees, slumping against Father's chair. He reached out his hand to my back and leaned over me. "My son, you mean more to me than . . . than everything."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I had trouble willing the tears away. What had I almost done?! I felt so lost and confused.

Father spoke again, "It's not your fault." And just like that, he forgave me. _How? Why?_ I didn't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself, but I had to, somehow. We had to work together again for the sake of the kingdom.

xxxXxxx

Much later in the day, after I'd returned to my chambers, I stood against the wall staring out the window, thinking. I'd come around enough to believe that Merlin and Father were right about sorcerers and magic. How had I ever believed Morgause?

Just then, I heard Merlin's light footsteps behind me. "I am in your debt, Merlin. I had become . . . confused. It is once more plain to me that those who use magic are evil and treacherous." I turned my head slightly so I could see him. "And that is thanks to you."

He hesitated a moment, then said in his usual cheerful voice, ". . . Happy I could help."

I turned and walked over to sit at the table where he'd begun cleaning my armor. It seemed I owed him a lot. He'd tried to warn me about Morgause many times, and when I wouldn't listen, he followed me into danger. He stayed with me even though I yelled and when I didn't talk at all. He was the voice of reason that stopped me from doing something that I'd regret for the rest of my life. What did I ever to do deserve such a loyal . . . _friend_?

* * *

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Many apologies for the delay! I had a mini-vacation and got sucked into writing a different fic. :( But here we go with Arty's view of S_weet Dreams_- beware of sappiness! :)**

* * *

A historic day dawned in Camelot. We were hosting a peace conference- every king of the five kingdoms are coming to work through their concerns. Things like trade, land grants, aid, and so forth. Mostly that means a lot of talking, but I suppose I could learn a lot too. Father and I watched from the battlements as the first of the entourages made their way down the road. He looked so serious. "Father, we're not going to war, you don't have to look so serious."

"Never before have the rulers of the five kingdoms met together like this. Never before have we all labored toward the same goal, toward peace. If these negotiations are successful, Camelot will begin a new age of prosperity. If they break down, we will almost definitely be at war."

We walked down to the courtyard to meet the delegations. When we arrived, King Alined had dismounted, dropping his cloak onto the ground. Alined was an interesting man- he's very mercurial, prone to fits of temper. So it was no surprise when he upbraided his servant right there in front of everyone.

"Boy! Is it unreasonable to expect that you could anticipate my needs?"

"No, Master. I was just . . ." the servant replied.

"Quit whining."

"Sorry, Master."

Father decided to throw a bone to the poor servant by distracting his master. "Alined, you are very welcome on this historic occasion." They grasped arms in greeting.

"Historic? Let's hope so," Alined replied then was escorted into the castle

Next to arrive was King Olaf's party. I only knew him by reputation—he was _way_ too protective of his daughter. She's beautiful. And lucky me, I get to escort her. But first I had to help her dismount. I reached up with both hands to grab either side of her waist. When she was down, I took her right hand to lead her past the horses. We walked up behind King Olaf, who was walking toward Father.

"What sort of greeting is this? You have us hanging around like the last swallows of summer," he jested.

"You are welcome, indeed, Olaf," Father replied.

"May I introduce my daughter, the Lady Vivian." She stepped forward and Father kissed her hand.

"Lady Vivian. You are so like your mother," Father said to her, then handed her back to me so I could escort her to her guest chambers. She didn't say much on the way so it was hard to get the measure of her.

I opened the door for her and she strode ahead of me into the room. "I hope everything is to your satisfaction," I said and followed her around the room.

"It is . . . tolerable," she replied.

"Most of our guests are exceedingly content here. I'm certain you will be, too." She paused to wipe some nonexistent dust off the table.

"Hmm. I am not most of your guests."

"In . . . deed," I replied. What could you reply to that and still be polite? Luckily Guinevere came in just then to save me from further humiliation. "Well, er, may I introduce Guinevere. She'll be taking care of you for the length of your stay. You'll want for nothing. She is indeed one of Camelot's best." She looked Guinevere up and down critically, probably finding her wanting like she did the chambers.

She giggled. _Giggled?_ "Then I fear for Camelot."

At that point, I couldn't find _anything_ to say. To insult the chambers was one thing, but to insult Guinevere? I had to leave. I glanced at Guinevere. She looked equally as shocked. We quickly exited, closing the door behind us. We looked at each other for a moment then started laughing disbelievingly.

"Good luck with that one," I said to her.

"Mmm," she replied.

I stared at her for a bit before she noticed. I could get lost looking into those eyes, and I almost did. Luckily, or not so much, I remembered myself and made to leave. "I have to get ready for the feast." So I reluctantly left her there and headed for my chambers.

Fortunately for him, Merlin was there. I didn't fancy looking all over the castle for him. I went behind a screen to change and he handed me a clean shirt. He brushed down my jacket while I dressed, but I noticed a problem with the shirt right away. "Merlin, what sort of impression do you suppose this gives?" _Nice hole, eagle eyes_.

"That we have moths?" He replied uncertainly. Or was that cheekily?

I rolled my eyes and said, "Get me another." After a few seconds he tossed a blue shirt over the screen, which I summarily pulled on. After checking for holes again, of course.

"And who could you be aiming to impress, Sire?"

"Well, let me think. Maybe the five kings sitting down there in the banquet hall."

"Oh. Not King Olaf's daughter, then? The Lady Vivian, she is extremely beautiful."

"Anyone attempting to impress the Lady Vivian does so at extreme peril. Olaf'd have their head in a vat of hot oil before they'd have the option to say hello. Also, she's not my type. She may be beautiful, but she's terribly rude. You should've heard what she said to Gwen." I pulled the overshirt partially on and ducked back behind the screen.

"Anyone insulting Gwen should do so at extreme peril."

I pulled off the overshirt and came back out to glare at him. "What?" That was my warning tone.

"Nothing. I just know how you feel about her, that's all. That is, if your feelings haven't changed, and I presume they haven't." He'd gotten the warning, and proceeded to ignore it. _Of course_.

"I do own a vat of hot oil, you know."

He laughed. "You're blushing!"

"No I'm not." I went back behind the screen, just in case.

"What's bad about Gwen?" He asked genuinely. Oh, I keep forgetting they're friends.

"Nothing." She's perfect- beautiful, kind, compassionate, strong . . .

"I think she's quite deserving of your love." Oh yes. And then there's reality.

"Certainly, were it so." I came out and put the overshirt back on. He came over to help.

"Which . . . it is."

I got in his face to emphasize my point. "Merlin."

"Yes, Arthur?"

"Get out." And thanks for rubbing my painful situation in my face. _Ugh!_

"Yes, Sire." He gave me a cheesy smile and left. Maybe I _did_ need to acquire a vat of hot oil. I tidied myself up and affected a dignified walk down to the banquet hall.

Most everyone had already arrived by the time I got there. I took my place and waited to be fed and entertained. When much of dinner had been consumed, the fun began.

Among the entertainers was Alined's servant, or should I say, jester. At one point he started breathing fire! He skipped down to the head table where all the kings sat. Bending over like he was going to be sick, he breathed fire and lit the candles in front of the kings. He walked over to the ladies and said, "But it is not enough to please just the gentlemen of the court. Now I have a spectacle for the ladies." With a flourish of his hands, he produced butterflies out of nowhere in front of Morgana and Vivian.

"That is talent, to be sure," Father said. He was impressed.

"We mean to please," Alined replied.

Trickler gasped then spoke again. "But what is this? Lady Vivian." He bent over in front of Vivian, put his hand by her ear and pulled it back to reveal a butterfly on his hand. "It has confused you with a beautiful flower." He backed away with a flourish while everyone applauded.

xxxXxxx

I woke up the next morning with the most _amazing_ feeling. It's like I knew that everything would go my way today. And it was all down to one out-of-this-world person. Lady Vivian. I sprung from my bed and dressed myself. Because I can! Just then I heard the most beautiful melody on earth—the voice of my beloved angel. She was down in the square. I rushed to the window to see if I could glimpse her glorious visage. She was beautifully scolding a servant, probably for the most heinous offense. No one would offend My Lady if I had any say in it!

"Good morning, Sire!" Merlin came in behind me.

"You've never been more right, Merlin. It is the sunniest, the most fragrant, the most magnificent morning I've ever seen in my life." I reluctantly turned from the window to face him.

"You're dressed." Always the tone of shock.

"I am the future King of Camelot, I do have some talents, you know." I turned back to the window.

"Certainly, you are awfully talented at getting others to do things for you."

"That is your job. But on this day my job is to woo."

"To what?" I turned again. Of course he had no idea what I was talking about. I walked toward him.

"To woo. I want to make a declaration of love."

"Really? I assumed you wanted your feelings to remain a secret?" He looked puzzled. _Why?_

"Why would I want to do that? By the end of the day I will have won my lady." He started helping me with my shirt.

"Right. Well, what will you say to your father?"

"Why? He's not important in this."

"Well, that's one to handle things."

"So, I require your help to convey my feelings."

"Of course." I waited for Merlin to say something else. Was he waiting for me to explain?

"How to convey my feelings." He's really slow this morning. Slower than usual.

"Oh, I see. Erm. Feelings."

"Feelings."

"Girls."

"Girls."

"Flowers?"

"Brilliant. Get some. Maybe you should also write a note."

"Excellent idea." I know.

"Something stirring. Something heartfelt. Something . . . you'll come up with something." Why should I have to do everything? I walked past him to go back to the window. All too soon I'd have to go sit in the boring, Vivian-less meeting with all the stuffy kings. I'm going to soak up her glorious presence while I can.

xxxXxxx

Sitting in the council chambers with the negotiating kings was mind-numbing. I tuned in to what they were saying now and then and had to stifle a few yawns. Daydreaming about Vivian was almost enough, but I finally took to sketching her face on my parchment. Hopefully Father wouldn't notice. I could use a distraction about now.

"Your requests are recorded and will be discussed in good time. In the interim, is there anyone else who has any other remarks about the northern territories?" Father droned.

King Olaf spoke up. "Well, can I just point out that . . ." I quit listening there, because a door had just opened.

Fortunately for me, Merlin popped in from that door and gestured for me to come over. I was all too glad for the excuse to leave. We walked out into the courtyard corridor. I asked him about what was on my mind, "Did you do it?"

"I placed them in her room. I felt that was better than an open display," he replied.

"You're certain she got them?" I stopped.

"I'm certain she _will_ get them."

"Great. All we can do now is wait." Just then I saw Guinevere and Vivian walking down the other end of the corridor. "Oh, but heaven has smiled upon me. She's even more breathtaking than earlier, don't you agree?"

"Yeah. Erm...I'm amazed to hear you speak so candidly."

"Nonsense. I want to tell the whole earth. I want to yell it across the kingdom."

"Are you certain that's a good plan? I appreciate your feelings, but others could object."

"Object?" I looked at him, puzzled. "To what?" My angel vanished into her room.

"Well, you're the future King of Camelot and she's just a simple serving girl. Though a very good serving girl . . ." I slapped him hard across the face. He's lucky that's all he's getting for that vile insult!

"Ah!" He put a hand to his cheek.

I got back into his face, pointing a finger for good measure. "Lady Vivian's of royal blood, a future queen. I will remove your head if I hear such impudence again." I turned around and walked away, leaving him there. How dare he! I would show her myself what she's worth.

xxxXxxx

That evening I felt it was time for me to make my own "gesture." So I went to the garden for a red rose, then to the kitchen. I gathered plates of tonight's dinner on a platter and headed to my Lady's chambers. I stood outside her chambers for a few moments with the platter and the rose. I took a breath before I knocked.

"Who is it?" Ah, that beautiful symphony of sound!

"It is destiny, my love! Destiny and chicken!" I checked to see if I smelled all right, then _she_ opened the door. "What a delightful combination, eh?" Then she closed the door in my face! _Why?_ I opened the door. "The beans are a bit cold, but the meat is very delicious."

"Go away." Awww.

"My love, I don't understand what I've done to upset you."

"Your love?! Not now, nor ever!" She looked disgusted! _What had I done?_

"Come now."

"My father will murder you if he catches you here."

"Your father doesn't concern me." I scoffed.

"You won't be saying that when he's rushing at you with a knife in his grasp. I've seen it before." _What?!_

"Really?"

"Yes." She shut the door in my face again. Oh, the agony! What was I doing wrong?

"Just five minutes!" I knocked again.

"My Lord, I'm not sure your advances are appreciated." I turned partway to look at Merlin, who'd snuck up to me. How rude!

From behind her door Vivian confirmed his suspicion, "Go away! And take your chicken with you!"

I turned and walked from the door, shoving the tray at Merlin. "Don't know where you get that idea from." I stormed back to my chambers to form a new strategy to win her heart. Merlin followed behind. She _will_ be mine!

When we got back there, he helped me change for bed. I got under the covers and sat against the headboard. How could I sleep like this? Merlin walked over with a cup of water. "Go on, Merlin. Say it."

"What?"

"You don't feel I should woo my love."

"Well, since you asked, I think a lot of things are in the way of a joyous tie between you and the Lady Vivian. Her murderous father, for one."

"Her total lack of regard for another."

"Would it be worthwhile revisiting your old love? Although, I have uncertainties about that as well."

"What are you chattering on about, Merlin? I don't have an old love." I went to turn over on my side, but stopped when I found some hair under my pillow. "What on earth? You really must begin paying attention to the details." That was so disgusting! Ugh! I'll get him for that tomorrow.

xxxXxxx

I had an odd but wonderful dream that night. My Lady and I were having a romantic picnic in the woods. We'd finished eating and decided to cuddle together on the blanket. She spooned up to my back and I took hold of her hand and brought it to my chest, saying, "Mmm. Lady Vivian, my love." It was such a sublime moment. Waking up in the morning was anticlimactic, but then again it was another day to win her heart.

After breakfast, I decided to go on a ride to clear my head and come up with a better way to woo my angel. I sent Merlin down to notify the stable hand of my wish. When I got down to the square, my horse was waiting, and off I went. But no matter how much I tried to put them out of my mind, my woes kept coming back to me. So I rode back home and stood next to my horse to think. His presence was soothing; I petted his nose while I tried to make up my mind. Just then Guinevere walked by me. She's such a sweet friend.

She passed me, then walked back. "What's wrong, Arthur? It looks like you're thinking hard about something."

I sighed, and handed the reins off to the stable hand. "You see right through me." I started walking with her next to me. "I've made myself look like a fool, that's all. That's everything."

"I'm certain that can't be true."

"You're very generous, Guinevere, but I'm afraid it is. I have made a gesture, but it wasn't received well."

"You sure?"

"Fairly sure." Yelling and doors slammed in my face are pretty definitive actions.

"Then you're mistaken." I stopped and looked at her. Did she know something I didn't?

"You are intimate with the lady in question." She let out a soft laugh.

"Your gesture was very welcome. But the situation is sensitive, and it isn't easy to say what is really in one's heart."

"You believe there's hope?"

"There is always hope."

"If I just had some way to know."

"Certainly, My Lord." That was an inspiring chat! I wasn't sure what I was going to do yet, but that talk was just what I needed to go forward. I'd have to thank her later.

I decided to go back to my chambers and swung by the kitchen on the way to grab a snack. An apple, yum! I heard someone yell as I got near, but I couldn't make it out. When I entered, I found Merlin standing with his back to the wardrobe. That was odd, but not for him. "Why are you hanging around with a bad smell? I'm the one who needs to bathe. I won't win my love stinking like an old kipper."

"No, My Lord." He may be odd, but at least he agreed with me. Suddenly King Olaf stormed into my chambers. _What the?_

"Where is he?! I know she's in here, Arthur! Surrender her! Or taste my fury!" King Olaf was very upset about _something_.

I looked at Merlin. "What's he talking about?"

"She wasn't even fully clad," Trickler interjected. I didn't like that guy—what's his part anyway?

"If I've dishonored you somehow, then, of course, supply me with proof and I'll accept the consequences."

"Trickler here informed me that the Lady Vivian is in your chambers."

Oh wouldn't that be heavenly? "If that were only true." Olaf grabbed the front of my shirt with both of his hands and pulled me toward him. Not pleasant. Luckily Merlin stepped in to save me. Good man.

"If that were only true you wouldn't seem so ridiculous." Olaf let me go, fortunately. He was pretty strong for someone Father's age.

"Search the room! You better pray I don't discover her." His guards started searching my chambers. I didn't get why he was upset. Didn't he understand how lovely love is?

I watched Trickler when he got an "ah-ha" look on his face then walked over to the wardrobe. He tried to open it, but it seemed it was locked. Weird. Merlin doesn't normally lock my wardrobe.

To Trickler, Merlin said, "That hasn't opened in years." _Huh, why would he say that?_

Olaf grabbed Trickler by his shirt, "You idiot! You made a fool out of me!" He then shoved him toward the door. Trickler scurried out of the room under his own power. Olaf turned to me to say, "I am, er, so extremely sorry, Arthur, to have bothered you. I . . . I do hope that you will pardon me." I waved at the apology—no harm done. He turned around, walking to the door, while yelling to the guards, "Check on the Lady Vivian! And stay _outside_ her chambers!" _Phew!_

"If only the Lady Vivian were in my chambers." I started walking toward my screen. "How wonderful that would be. Eh, Merlin? Merlin? Merlin?" I peeked over the top of the screen, then the side, but no Merlin. He's always disappearing like that. Oh well.

xxxXxxx

Later in the day, after I'd finally gotten bathed and changed, I noticed a piece of folded parchment on the floor near my door. I picked it up and opened it. A note—was it from my beloved? I read it out loud, "A second try. Sunset. I anticipate your arrival." _All right!_ She must have somehow sensed I hadn't given up on her. And now she was waiting for me. In her chambers? Only one way to find out.

I went to the garden for another red rose. Ooh sunset. I made my way toward her chambers only to see guards in front of her door. She was there! I stuck the rose behind my back and went back the way I'd come. Maybe there's a way in from the square?

I snuck outside. It was after dark now, but that was okay. No one would see me do . . . whatever it was I was going to do. I walked over until I was under her window. No obvious ways in presented themselves. All that was left to do was climb the wall. I stuck the rose between my teeth for lack of another place to stash it, and began climbing.

Getting through the window was a chore. There was nothing to leverage myself up and over the sill. I ended up falling head first, but managed to turn it into a forward roll. _Neat!_ The rose was mangled, but I stood and looked down. There _she_ was; I sighed. "At last." So beautiful, even while asleep.

I sat next to her, to cuddle until she woke up. As I stroked her face, she woke. "My love!" She squealed. Oh, so melodic! She knelt up to face me.

"Always. Forever." The world faded away as we began kissing furiously. There was nothing but _her_.

A few minutes laterI heard her door bang open and King Olaf's furious voice say, rather loudly and rudely, "I knew it!" We broke apart. It seems we had quite an audience now—her father, my father, King Alined, Trickler, and Merlin?

"I can't believe my eyes." Merlin said.

It seemed my love was anxious to share our news, "Father! We've got something to say to you."

Father yelled, "Arthur!" At the same time, King Olaf took off his glove and threw at the foot of the bed.

"Father!" My Vivian yelled, exasperated.

He didn't listen to her, but said to me, "You previously said that if you ever actually insulted my honor, then you would gladly face the consequences. What do you say now, Prince Arthur?"

I got up off the bed, moving toward him. "How have I insulted your honor? Certainly not with my love only?!"I reached back to grab Vivian's hand and pull her toward me.

He was incredulous. "Love?! You don't understand anything about love! You're exploiting an innocent girl!"

Vivian took issue with that. "Father."

Father was incredulous too. "Arthur!"

I said back to Olaf, "I promise you, my feelings for your daughter are as genuine as they are deep."

He didn't buy it. "Hand her over, or face the consequences." I snuggled her into my chest and took her hand again, putting on my serious face. He continued, "Is this enough to risk your life for?"

"Arthur?"Vivian asked meekly, looking up at me. I saw that I needed to prove myself to her.

"It certainly is. I would sooner die than renounce my feelings." I looked right into her perfect eyes. "I love your daughter with all my heart." She smiled her brilliant smile and I kissed her before bending down to pick up the glove.

xxxXxxx

The next day dawned beautiful and bright, just like my Vivian's smile. What a gorgeous day to prove my love to her father by meeting him on the field of battle. Father came to visit me. He'd been talking to King Olaf to try to get him to change his mind. How silly! I couldn't contain my joy and bounced around my chambers—mainly my bed 'cause it was so springy!

"It's no good. I've talked with Olaf; he will not withdraw the challenge. He says his honor has been stained. He wants recompense."

"You didn't have to do that, Father." He didn't want me to prove myself?

"The fight is to the death. What did you imagine you were doing?"

"You can't help who you fall in love with." The absolute truth.

"You do understand that your behavior endangers the peace talks, and that it could lead to war for Camelot?"

"I am pleased to fight for what I believe in."

Father got so frustrated he turned to Merlin and asked, "What's wrong with him?" Merlin just shook his head, not saying a thing. Oh good! He was on my side.

"Lady Vivian. No more. And yet, who could hope for more?" Father threw his hands in the air and left. I guess he just couldn't withstand my flawless reasoning.

A short while later, Merlin and I left my chambers to head for the tournament field. I saw Guinevere in the corridor coming our way. I hadn't forgotten how she'd helped me the previous day. As she passed us, I said, "Ah, Guinevere! Will you wish me luck?"

"Will I?" She sounded kind of upset and didn't stop walking.

"Haven't you been told?" I stopped and turned around.

"Oh, yes. I've been told. But regrettably not from your mouth. I hoped you could've been more truthful with me, Arthur." _Say what? _She was upset with _me_? Whatever for? Very puzzling.

"What is she trying to say?" I asked Merlin.

"No clue." Well, he knew her pretty well and if he didn't know, then no one would. I turned back around and resumed walking to the field. We went inside my tent and I quickly changed with Merlin's help.

I walked out to the field where King Olaf waited and stood next to him. Father sat in the royal box, with Morgana and King Alined flanking him. He stood to address the crowd. "King Olaf has demanded recompense. And by the earliest laws of Camelot, the situation will be resolved through a tourney with three stages. The weapons selected are quarterstaff, mace, and sword. The fight will be by the Knights' Rules, and to the death. Do we all understand?" I smiled over at Vivian and she smiled back. She's _so_ beautiful and I was doing this for her. She's _so_ worth it.

Father raised his hand and lowered it quickly. That was the signal for the hourglass keeper to start timing. I heard Olaf growl as he made the first move. We traded a few blows then I noticed Vivian staring, so I blew her a kiss. He was definitely strong, but there was no way he was going to beat me. We got a good rhythm of strikes and parries going, then I hit him in the stomach. That gave me enough time to smile at my love again. Olaf used that moment to whack me behind the knees and I fell down hard. _Ow!_ He almost hit me again before I jumped up and hit _him_ a couple times. I relaxed too early and he struck me in the stomach where I was holding my staff. It broke and I turned around to show everyone that I was all right. Luckily the time ran out just then. I got to go back into my tent where Gaius insisted on checking me over. As if I could be hurt—how silly!

He poked me in the ribs and said, "One of your ribs is fractured, Sire."

"Nothing can harm me today. I'm indestructible." I grabbed his face between my hands. "Love really can conquer all, Gaius. It's true."

Gaius turned around and whispered something to Merlin. They had a quiet little conversation before Merlin shot me a weird look and left the tent. Oh well. Gaius could get me ready for the next bout with the mace. He didn't seem too sure though. I already told him I was indestructible; didn't he believe me? "Are you quite certain you can continue, Sire?"

"Providing I have Vivian to look upon, I can conquer the world. Anyway, the mace is my forte. You'll see." And I felt that way even after Olaf hit me hard in the abdomen. Again. More than once. He was really good at this—maybe it was _his_ forte too. He just kept coming and coming at me. I couldn't get in close enough to hit him. Maybe the mace _wasn't_ my forte. Finally I managed a couple of hits and he went down. I turned around to applause and faced my Vivian. She smiled her glorious smile, then looked horrified. I was puzzled until I heard Olaf's next swing. He almost had me then, so he redoubled his efforts and hit me in the shoulder. I fell and he swung his mace around for a final blow, until the gong sounded. He growled in frustration. I was grateful for the break and went back to my tent.

I had gotten my armor off and had been poked and prodded by Gaius again. He left, muttering something about lovesick fools. That's when Guinevere walked in. I was surprised! "Ah! Have you turned up to wish me good luck? 'Cause I honestly don't feel I need it anymore."

"No, Arthur. I haven't come to wish you luck." Hmph! Why come at all then?

"Well, frankly, that's quite rude."

"Then let me apologize," she said and walked right up to me. She pinned me up against the tent pole and kissed me. I was confused for a moment then closed my eyes to kiss her back. It's like a fog was clearing from my head. We put our arms around each other and I felt the need to dip her. I pulled her up and we broke apart. Suddenly I felt incredible pain and cringed at my newly discovered injuries.

"What's going on?" I asked her.

She whispered back, "You're in a fight. To the death. You're being beaten." Say _what_? How did this happen?

"But . . ."

She whispered again, "No time to explain. Simply . . . live for me, Arthur. That's all I want for now." The horn sounded. She had her hand on my face and looked right in my eyes. How could I refuse her that?

Merlin came in the tent just then and helped me get my armor back on. This fight was already going to hurt a lot, and I hoped the pain wouldn't hinder my mobility. We walked back to the field; once there, I stopped to put my helmet on. I watched Guinevere climb into the stands. I'd gotten into this fight for a stupid reason, but I knew I had to win it. Not for Vivian, but for Guinevere. But if I lost . . . I turned to Merlin. "Merlin, if anything happens to me, take care of Gwen. Everyone else may believe she's only a servant, disposable, but . . . she's not disposable to me."

He smiled and handed me my helmet. I knew he'd do as I asked, but I was determined to prove he wouldn't have to. It was time to fight for what was _right_. I walked back out onto the field and, at the sign, we started to fight. The pain did hamper me a bit, and Olaf managed to get in a few good hits. I caught sight of Guinevere and she smiled back. That gave me the strength to push past the pain. Eventually Olaf drove a shoulder into me and I went down. I rolled to avoid him and used his momentum to flip him over my head. That disarmed him and I jumped up quickly to press my advantage. I stood over him, ready to strike, then lowered my sword.

Raising my voice to address the whole crowd, I said, "This is not how we attain peace!" I reached down and offered Olaf a hand. I clapped him on the shoulder while the crowd cheered. I nodded to Guinevere and she smiled back. Now _she_ was the one really worth fighting for.

xxxXxxx

Back in my chamber, Merlin explained about the love potion. Alined had Trickler procure it then use it on me and Vivian. Apparently Alined wanted war. Luckily Gaius knew how to break the spell and Merlin knew about my true love.

I knew I owed Guinevere a massive apology, so after I cleaned up and rested a bit, I made my way down to the gardens for the third time in as many days. At this rate there wouldn't be any red roses left. I walked down to her house with a note _I'd_ written this time. I let myself in, knowing she wasn't home but would be soon. I left the note and rose on her table.

She came in a few minutes later and went right to the table. I'd hidden in the corner behind her door, so she was surprised when I spoke up. She turned around and I walked toward her. "I felt I should deliver it myself this time. I'm sorry . . . for . . . what I put you through."

"No. You don't have anything to be sorry for. I, too, have brought about my fair share of pain." She was too gracious, too kind.

"You have to know that my feelings for . . . Vivian . . . weren't genuine. I've never loved anyone else." I suddenly couldn't look at her.

"One day you will. One day you'll discover your true princess. One day you'll be King of Camelot. And I can't be your queen." Is that really what she thought? _Ouch_.

"You don't believe that."

"I am as certain of that as you are."

"Things could change."

"Well, until they do . . ." She bowed. "My Lord." _No! This is not what I wanted!_ But what could I do? I turned and left without comment, not knowing what to think.

xxxXxxx

The next day all the kings and their retinues prepared to leave in the courtyard. We all watched as King Alined roundly abused Trickler, yanking on the chains that had been fastened around his wrists. "This is more than you merit, boy. You will run the entire way home." Alined said.

Whining, Trickler replied, "That's impossible, Master."

"Make it possible." Alined replied.

Father finally broke in. "Why so irritable Alined?"

I put in my two pence. "Anybody could guess you didn't want peace!"

"Certainly I do. Peace? Love it," Alined replied.

"Well, you can come back any time to see the treaty," Father said generously.

"You're really thoughtful." He sounded almost condescending. He nudged his horse into a walk, dragging Trickler behind him. A teary-eyed Vivian walked by us. Her father was close by her side.

"We can come back, too?" She asked hopefully.

I could tell father was trying not to laugh. "You'll always be welcome."

Vivian looked past him, to me. "My heart will wait, and I wish to unite it soon." I nodded at her awkwardly, and gave her a little wave. Thank goodness _that_ was over. Hopefully the spell on her would break soon. I pitied Olaf having to live with her like that. I turned to walk inside with Merlin.

"Not too soon." I said to him in an undertone.

"No. May be at odds with your one true love."

"My what?" That wasn't a question. It was an opportunity to change his statement.

"You heard me. I have evidence." _Huh?_ How the heck would he know?

"Evidence?" What evidence? What does he know?

"You kissed her. In the tent." Time to stop this story before it goes any further.

"Merlin." I injected a note of danger into my tone.

"Yes?" Cheeky fellow. I paused on the steps.

"What took place in the tent."

"Mm-hmm?" Paying attention? Good.

"Speak of it _one more time_ and I'll kill you."

"Okay." We resumed walking. If I hear about this from anyone else, it would happen. Immediately and without hesitation. Just as soon as I could find him.

* * *

**Thanks again for reading! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the last chapter for S2- 2.12, T_he Fires of Idirsholas._ The "story" is officially complete, but I'm keeping it "open" so I can inform everyone when I've got the first story of S3 posted. Thanks for reading! :)**

* * *

Today started off a bit odd. Instead of going to training after breakfast, I was summoned to the council chambers. Someone had come from pretty far away to report something quite odd. That's all the page boy knew. This had better be _very_ compelling to pull me away from training. Only a few people of the court were there. Father was sitting in his throne so I went to stand next to him. Once I got there, the visitor spoke.

"I'm a herder from the northern plains, Sire. Three nights ago we camped underneath the walls of Idirsholas."

"I'm not certain I would've stayed near such a place." He made it sound like something was wrong with this place, whatever it was.

"Decent pasture is rare this time of year, Sire."

"So what do you have to tell me?" He almost sounded bored. Hm.

"While there, we . . . we saw smoke arise from the castle." _So?_

Father looked at Gaius, who spoke next. "And did you see anything else?"

"No."

Back to Father. "Did you go in?" Why would he be concerned with that?

"No. No one's set foot over that threshold for 300 years! Surely you know the tale, Sire."

Gaius did. "'When the fires of Idirsholas burn, the Knights of Medhir will ride again.'"

Father stood up. "Make sure this man is fed and receives a bed for the night." As the shepherd was led away, he said to me, "Ride out there."

"Why?" Was he _serious_?

"Investigating will put people's minds at ease."

"Surely this is superstitious babble?"

"Assemble a few knights and do as you're told." He walked away, giving me no chance to argue further. I guess I'm going for a ride. Great.

We left as soon as everyone had gathered what they needed and met in the square. I took a good-sized group of knights with me. The Knights of Medhir were said to be seven strong, so we'd need at least that many to overpower them. We hadn't gotten that far from Camelot when I noticed Merlin making _that_ face again—the one that made him look like a wounded puppy. "What's wrong, Merlin? Don't tell me you've been listening to Gaius's bedtime tales again."

"I really hope that's what they are," he replied. Oh brother, he's worried about what's probably nothing.

We rode until nightfall and made camp. Nothing significant happened all night, so we rested well for once. Idirsholas would not be a long ride away, so we left a little later in the morning than we normally would. After a couple hours' ride, we left the forest for a hilly, grassy plain. In the middle was a very imposing-looking fortress—in ruins, but in fair shape otherwise. We approached cautiously and entered with swords drawn, keeping quiet, until . . .

"What's that noise?"

"What noise?" I replied, still looking around for _serious_ threats.

"A kind of quaking sound." That's too good an opening. I rolled my eyes.

"That's your knees rapping together." I don't think he appreciated that. Too bad for him.

We reached a doorway to the interior without further interruption. Instead of splitting up, we stayed together in one unit. I didn't want anyone ambushed. A bit further in, we reached a chamber with a door made of metal bars. Inside looked like a dungeon with a fire pit in the middle. I bent down to check the ashes for warmth. "It looks like part of Joseph's story was correct. Maybe only travelers passing through."

"Or perhaps not," Merlin said. He'd turned his head to look behind us. I don't know why he did, but I was glad he did. These strange masked knights had just _appeared_ where we'd entered the room. They drew their swords as one. Those of us who didn't have their swords ready got them there in a hurry.

The mysterious knights charged right up and engaged us. I fought one, then another, finally running one through. To my surprise, he didn't fall and even managed another strike at me before I backhanded him and he fell away. Another one came up to me and I stabbed him in the gut. The sword stuck fast so I was left sword-less. I had to dodge a few blows, until I heard my name called.

"Arthur!" Merlin had somehow gotten a sword. I don't know how, but just in time he threw it to me. I fought a couple more before I noticed our numbers had dwindled. We weren't going to win this battle.

As I came to this conclusion, I yelled to Merlin, "Run, Merlin! Go!" He ran past me, then stopped for some reason. "What are you . . ?! Do as I say!" I gave him a shove toward the entrance, where he stopped again. _Waiting for me?_ Does he have no sense of self-preservation? I turned around to cover for him, backing my way to the door and fighting the whole time. I heard him say something right before the ceiling started falling down. I felt him pull me backwards toward the entrance then we turned around and fled the fortress.

We didn't stop running until we'd reached the cover of the woods. Once there, we stopped to catch our breath. I noticed Merlin had a tear in his jacket. "What's with your arm?"

He looked surprised. "Oh, I probably snagged it on something." He started taking his jacket off.

"Let's see." I stuck my sword in the ground to free my hands. "Your first battle wound. Here." Oddly enough, I felt like a mother watching her baby take his first steps. So I made a show of ripping my tunic to make a bandage.

Not surprisingly, he protested that. "Er, no. No, don't...You'll damage it."

"Don't fret. You can fix it." Ha, I knew that's what he was trying to avoid. I wrapped up his arm and took a moment to look around.

"Did anybody else get away?" Merlin shook his head. Six good knights gone. Just like that. "We have to return to Camelot, collect reinforcements." Whether those invulnerable fighters were the fabled Knights of Medhir or not, they had to be stopped. We walked back to the horses and rode for home.

We stopped and dismounted at the gate. The guards were lying on the ground. I walked over to a pair and knelt to check one for a pulse.

"Are they alive?" Merlin asked.

The man's pulse was strong and steady. "Yes. They're breathing."

"What's happened to them?" I turned to him and stood up.

"I don't know." I was really at a loss here. It looked as if these guards had just fallen asleep where they stood. Why . . . no, _how_ would they do that? We sprinted into the square where more guards and even knights were strewn about. All were asleep just like the guards at the gate. "What's happening?" I asked rhetorically. I continued scanning the square for anyone who might be awake, when we heard the sound of a horse approaching. It came into the square with a cart; the driver was fast asleep, so I stopped it.

When Merlin saw the state of the driver, he said, "I'll fetch Gaius," and rushed into the palace. Less than a minute later, I heard him yell, "Arthur?!" He sounded panicked, so I ran as fast as I could to meet him.

He stood at the bottom of the staircase just inside. People were sprawled all around us and on the staircase. Every last one was unconscious.

"They're all fast asleep," he surmised as I looked around in shock. "Possibly some sort of sickness."

At that, my mind immediately jumped to the most important person in the castle. "Where's my father?" I ran up the stairs, Merlin following behind. We went to the council chamber and opened the door. Empty. "Where is he?!" We ran next to Gaius's chambers.

Gaius was slumped down on one of the tables. Merlin got to him first and tried to shake him awake. "Gaius?! It must be an act of magic."

"We need to find my father!" I replied, and we turned and ran out of the room. We almost passed Morgana's chambers, but stopped on a hunch and went inside. I noticed Guinevere lying on the floor, so I knelt down to pick her up and move her to the bed. As I stood up we heard the curtain behind us move. I drew my sword and reached out to pull whoever it was out from behind it. As I did so, I shouted and heard a feminine scream in response. Morgana.

She was completely freaked out and kept pulling on my arm. "It's me! It's me, Morgana! What's happened?"

"I didn't know it was you!"

I tried to reassure her. "Settle down, Morgana. Simply tell us what happened."

"Everyone was complaining, saying they didn't feel well." Merlin had theorized illness . . .

"So then what?"

"People began falling asleep. Everyone, everywhere I went."

"Was somebody here?" She shook her head. I had to ask, "So how come you were hiding?"

"I told you, I didn't know it was you." Oh-kay. Next?

"Where's my father?"

She looked at me. "I don't know." I could sense she was telling the truth, but was that all of it?

Merlin tried to intervene, "Arthur, she's upset." It was a gentle warning. I ignored it.

"If she was awake then she should have seen something."

"But I didn't notice anything," she whispered.

I didn't relent. "You noticed people falling ill, what did you do?"

"What could I do?" She looked ready to burst into tears.

I raised my voice, "Morgana, I can't work it out. How is it that you're the only person awake?" She wouldn't respond, so I turned my attention to finding my father.

We went out into the corridor. I dodged inside rooms, scanning them quickly for Father; Morgana and Merlin followed a bit more slowly. Whenever I ran into the corridor I could hear them talking, but not what they were actually saying. Finally I made it to Father's chambers, and there he was. "I found him!" I yelled; I hope they'd heard me.

I lifted him from his slumped position over the table and tried to wake him. "Father."

"See, he's okay," Merlin offered, unhelpfully.

I turned Father's face so Merlin could see the stupidity of his statement. "He is not 'okay'."

"He's only asleep," Merlin amended. I let Father slump back to the table. "We just need to find a cure. Some way to wake them."

"Who could possibly do this?" My mind jumped to Morgana again; the only person awake during a sleeping plague. "You're the only one who hasn't been affected, Morgana. There has to be an explanation."

"I don't know." She's still not helping. This is _so_ frustrating!

I raised my voice again. "That's what you keep answering! You have to know something!"

"I don't, they simply fell asleep one at a time!" She was nearly hysterical again.

Merlin jumped in again, "It's obvious. When she began feeling ill, Gaius offered her a potion, right?" Another theory of his? But Gaius _would_ do something like that.

"When was she ill? She didn't say that." She hasn't said much at all—how would we know?

"She must have been one of the last to be affected. The potion must have helped in some way."

"What about everybody else?"

"Gaius was too ill by then. He didn't get to treat anyone else." He still sounded like he was making this up on the spot, and he kept looking back at Morgana. Very odd, but it was the only thing we'd come up with that made any sense.

"Go see if you can locate this potion," I told Merlin. As he left, I turned to Morgana. "I'll look for signs of life in the lower town. Morgana, you stay here. You watch over my father. Keep him safe. Here." I handed her my sword. "Guard him with your life, you understand?" She nodded weakly and I left to go back to the lower town.

I ducked into homes and shops and ran through the market. No one else was awake. When I got down by the gate, I noticed something moving on the road in the distance. _That could not possibly be good, could it?_ So I ran all the way back to the citadel, to Gaius's chambers. Merlin would probably be there, _still_ looking for this mystery potion. I got to the opened door and saw him kneeling on the floor. Since it wasn't the oddest thing I'd seen all day, I let it pass. "Merlin! Move it!"

I led him up to the battlements so we could get a better view at what was coming. There were seven dark figures on seven dark horses, and one lighter figure on a white horse.

"According to the story there were just seven Knights of Medhir."

"So who's the additional rider?"

"I don't know. Camelot is vulnerable."

"We need to return to my father." I pulled Merlin away and we ran back to Father's chambers. "This will be one of the first chambers they search. We have to move him somewhere else."

Oh yeah, Morgana. "What's happening?" she asked.

"We're being attacked. No time for details," I told her as we walked over and picked Father up. I directed Merlin, "Take his legs, hold him." Apparently he lacked upper body muscles; Father was barely off the floor. "You're not supposed to be sweeping the floor with him! Lift up his feet!"

"His feet _aren't_ the trouble." Hey! Father is _not_ fat!

I looked at Morgana, imploring her to assist. "Morgana, help him out." She grabbed a leg and away we went into the corridor. Unfortunately that's when Father started to snore. I looked up from him to see Merlin grinning like the idiot he was. He was already on thin ice—lucky for him we had a crisis to avert or he'd probably be spending quality time with the stocks. "It's not amusing, _Mer_lin." He at least tried to wipe the grin off his face. "Did you locate the potion Morgana used?"

"Er . . . no." Great. Just great.

In a moment we reached my chambers and I backed through the doors. At that point, the other two were barely holding his legs off the floor. They summarily dropped them, forcing me to stop where I was. "We can't lay him here! We need to get him onto the bed."

They both looked at me disbelievingly before Merlin spoke up, "Why? He's asleep. He won't know."

"Merlin!" I couldn't think of a polite response after that.

"All right . . . I'll get him a pillow." He ran to the head of my bed to do just that. I couldn't believe this.

I turned to yell at him, "He's the _King_!" That's why I wanted him _on_ the bed!

"Okay. Two pillows." I rolled my eyes. I gave up—he _refused_ to understand. Together we put the pillows under Father's head. As I stood up, I staggered a bit. That prompted Merlin to ask, "You feeling all right?"

"Are you feeling similar?" He put his hand to his forehead and I noticed we were both perspiring.

"We're getting ill."

"That can't happen. We have to keep my father concealed." I looked around for an obvious place to hide him.

"Could we disguise him?" _Eh?_

"That could possibly work." His brain _was_ still working.

"We could dress him like a woman." Or not.

"That, on the other hand . . ."

"We could dress him like a servant."

"Much better."

"I'll find him some clothing." And with that, he took off to . . . wherever he was going to find clothes.

That left me with Morgana. I looked at her. "Are you okay, Morgana? You're pretty quiet."

She just sat there on the edge of the table. "I'm all right."

"You certain?" I drew my sword out to place it next to her. She jumped a bit. _Ah ha_. "I always know when you're lying. Never fear. I won't let anyone harm him."

After a while I got tired of waiting. And then I got worried. Not that I'd ever admit that to anyone. So I said to Morgana, "I'm just going to make sure that Merlin's on his way back," then headed out the door. Those Knights were inside by now, so I had to keep stealthy. I heard footsteps and ducked onto an alcove—I could pull whoever- or whatever -in here to confront them. Luckily it was Merlin. "What kept you?"

"I didn't know the King's size." _What? Really?_ Of all the lame excuses . . . just then we heard creepy deep breathing. We peeked around the other side of the alcove and saw Morgause walking down the corridor with the undead knights. I tried to pull my sword, but Merlin stopped me. That _witch_! I _still_ haven't forgiven her for manipulating me into almost killing Father. _She_ was behind _this_ too?! He ran back to my chambers while I looked for someplace to move my Father.

Merlin had changed Father's clothes and it looked as if he'd started preparing to move Father. Good. "We need to move the King before Morgause finds us."

"Morgause!" She sounded surprised to me.

"Come on! Let's go!" I yelled at the other two; they each picked up one of Father's legs again and began to move.

"You're not shocked?" He asked her. Huh.

"No, I am," she replied. Did she know Morgause?

We were able to get him to the corridor to the servants' chambers, and dragged him into one. "Probably be safe in here for the moment." The bed was low, so we managed to get him onto it before Merlin and I collapsed. Morgana walked over to look out the window; she still looked very healthy. We stared at her. "Most likely the potion Gaius gave her," I mused.

"Yeah, probably the potion." He sounded like I felt—utterly exhausted.

"We can't keep doing this much longer."

"I know. Hold on. We're in a servant's chambers. We can leave him here; they'll think he's just a servant."

"Not if Morgause sees him. We have to get him away from Camelot."

"When we got here a cart came into the main square, remember?" I was surprised either of us could still think clearly.

"You are bursting with good ideas today, Merlin. You go look." He didn't look happy, but got himself up and out the door. We didn't have to wait long—just a couple minutes later Merlin ran back in the room and slammed the door behind him.

"They're moving in! We won't get to the cart, not lugging Uther."

But Morgana and I hadn't been idle. We'd removed the bed sheets and made a sort of litter; we could drag him and he wouldn't get dirty. "That's why we've crafted this. We will pull him." I ran over to the door to peek down the corridor. One of the Knights approached, so I closed the door, drew my sword and hid behind a column. "Hide somewhere. Stay quiet," I yelled at the others and they copied my actions. The Knight entered, and when it was close enough, I attacked, simultaneously yelling, "Guard the King! Move him out of here!" They ran over to Father and started dragging him out of the room and down the corridor.

I heard Morgana scream a couple of times, but I was still engaged with the Knight. When I'd gotten him down, I ran out the door and closed it behind me. Out in the corridor, I saw Morgana on the floor. She was scared out of her wits but unharmed. The Knight who'd attacked was down the hall, turning the corner. I helped her up and took off after the Knight. I'd assumed he was after Merlin and Father, so as soon as I caught up to them I stuck my sword in him. It distracted him and we traded a couple of blows before I maneuvered him in front of a staircase and kicked him down it. Morgana reappeared and I pulled her to where Merlin was headed—the council chamber.

As soon as we'd closed the doors, I said, "Merlin, help me." Together we picked up the beam and barred the door with it. Once that was done, we turned around and collapsed against it. Morgana _still_ looked fine. "Morgana, we want the potion that Gaius gave you. Morgana."

"I don't have it." She looked desperate.

"I understand that, but you have to remember what it was, what was in it? Hurry, Morgana! We can't keep this up much longer! Think!"

"I'm sorry I . . ."

Merlin interjected again, "It won't make a difference. Besides, we can't go after it now, we're locked in."

I knew he had a point, but I didn't want to give up. "There must be something we can work out!" I paced past her. I heard Merlin whisper something to her, but I only heard her reply as I walked back to them.

"How should I know? Because I'm a woman?"

"Yeah, possibly," he replied.

"Unless we can free ourselves of this illness, I'm not sure how we're going to last," I interrupted.

"We need to wipe out the source of the magic," Merlin said. Wait—how'd he figure that out?

"Which is?"

"I don't know." Guess he's all out of ideas.

"Our one option is to get away from Camelot. Help me move my father." Morgana came and lifted a corner of the blanket with me and we dragged him to the back of the room. I gave her new directions, "You rip up the blanket. We'll lash it to my father, and we'll let him down to the cart."

She tried to interrupt, "Arthur . . ."

I cut her off, "Please, Morgana, just do as I ask." I turned to Merlin to explain my plan. "I'll bring the cart over to the window."

"You're going out there?" He asked, while I leaned against the door to gather strength. "I'm coming with you."

"No. No, you stay. You look after the King."

"You won't get to the cart by yourself. It's suicide."

"We don't have any other option." I closed my eyes, just for a moment.

"How're you feeling?"

"Not bad."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Never better."

"Find me a pillow, could you."

"Don't fool around. Arthur you . . . Arthur? You have to keep awake." His voice faded into the distance. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain across my face. Merlin had smacked me!

"Merlin!" I yelled, backing away from the door to better reprimand him.

"That's better!"

"Don't ever do that again . . ."

"Well, don't go to sleep, then!" He yelled. I took the water skin from him and splashed my face with it. Just then the Knights growled right outside the door. Merlin backed away from it.

"That your knees again?" I jested. We stepped up to the door and unbarred it. Before I went out to face certain doom, I tried again, "If I want a servant in the next life . . ."

"Don't ask me!" he yelled back.

"Ha-ha!" I laughed before I drew my sword and jumped out into the corridor. The Knight was _right there_, so I engaged him right away. The others were also there, close behind him. They were almost overwhelmingly strong. I had to backhand or shove them to get them out of the way, and another would move right into its place. Morgause eventually appeared and watched me fight with a vicious smirk on her face. Suddenly her smirk fell and she ran past me. I heard an explosion. I couldn't turn to look, but suspected she'd just gained entry to the council chamber. I prayed she wouldn't harm them and kept fighting.

I was just about to slash through the middle of a Knight when it collapsed to the floor. All the others behind it collapsed onto each other. I just stared at them in shock then noticed my head began to clear. Did the spell just end? What was going on in the council chamber? Suddenly I heard footsteps along adjoining corridors, and some of my knights ran to me. I wasted no time in running back to the council chamber. "What did you do with my father?"

"He's safe!" Merlin said. I looked around the room. Father was waking where we'd left him. Merlin stood in front of Morgause, who was kneeling on the floor holding . . .

"Morgana!"

"Stay away from her!" Morgause yelled at me, then embraced Morgana tighter. "_Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard!_"

I don't know what she said, but I know what it did. _Magic_. A windy, twisty cloud of smoke appeared, catching Morgause and Morgana up into it. As it cleared away, they disappeared into it. All of us looked upward reflexively, but they were gone. They had completely vanished from Camelot; I just _knew_ it.

Merlin looked sick to his stomach. I didn't feel any better, but I knew how to hide it. Futilely, I tried to get him to talk, but eventually just let him go to Gaius. I walked over to Father and lent him an arm to support him as we followed Merlin. Gaius checked Father over, then me. He pronounced us in good health but advised Merlin and I to retire early tonight. I fully intended to take that advice.

After Gaius checked him, Father wandered off. I was worried about his state of mind, so as soon as Gaius cleared me I went looking for him. I found him in Morgana's chambers, looking through her jewelry box fondly. I should have known to look here first. "I couldn't find you. How are you?"

He didn't turn around. "Is there yet no trace of her?"

"We've searched, Father.

He finally turned around. "Morgause can't be permitted to evade us."

"Yes, Father." I turned to leave, hopelessness settling upon me.

"Arthur." I paused. "I haven't had the opportunity to thank you."

"I let you down, Father. I should have looked after Morgana."

"No. That was my responsibility." He turned back around. "Her loss will always be on my conscience, not yours." I don't know if I've ever seen him like this. Not sad exactly, but more regretful, despairing. I knew we'd continue searching until we found her. He wouldn't rest until we did. Neither would I.

xxxXxxx

Later that night, I was lying in bed, hovering on the edge of sleep. The candles were out and there was no moon. I closed my eyes to surrender to sleep when I heard a low roar. Roar? My eyes flew open. The roar sounded again, closer and louder. I ran to the window but saw nothing. Just the dark night pressing heavily upon me. I got back into bed and prayed I was just hearing things.

* * *

**I'll begin S3 stories in a few days. In the meantime, I'll consider suggestions for episodes to "do." :)**


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